Midnight Fox
by Sakura Ani
Summary: To be on the safe side, I'm rating this PG13. A semi-AU fic, romance with a smidge of action. It's been ten years since Rika and Henry have seen each other. Rika has become a famous criminal... and Henry, the police who's been following her. Henrika.
1. 1

Author's Note: Well, would you looky here: It's another fanfic. And no, I won't say anything like, "read and find out what couple is in this fic." I'll let you know now that this is a Henry/Rika coupling fic. So if you don't like this couple, I won't force you to read it. *hides guns behind her back while whistling innocently* Of course I won't force you to read it...

I've decided to change my pen name. So if anyone is curious, I used to be MysticJade.

Anyway, this is a semi-AU fic. I've portrayed the characters the way that I see them and so they might be just a little bit out of character. I don't know. Let me know if they are though. Um... there will be a guest appearance by one of the season 02 characters, but that's because I needed a name and that's the first one I thought of. No harm... I hope. The character doesn't exactly portray her actual self from the anime. Also, in this fic, Rika has an uncle. His existence will be explained in a later part.

Without further ado...

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I DO own any character who isn't from the Digimon anime.

And now......

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~Chapter 1~

Midnight Fox. 

That was who she was now. The name that she had been dubbed for all her late night heists that, so far, no one has been able to stop. It was because she was as slinky and sneaky as a fox. That's where the name came from. She was the greatest thief in the history of the great city, Los Angeles. She was a famous person now. Practically all the wealthy business people knew her... and feared her. It seemed that "they" were the only ones she targeted.

She stole- yes. But in the hearts of many, Midnight Fox was an ancient hero- stealing from the rich and giving to the poor... though there hasn't been any proof that she didn't keep the valuables for herself. There was no proof that she didn't either. It was just a feeling.

Many people, however, only dared to praise her silently. She was, after all, one of the most wanted criminals of the city. She was presumed dangerous too. Apparently, Midnight Fox not only stole, but she'd also killed. The truth of those rumors were yet to be known.

Rika scoffed at how naive the people of today were as she stood in front of her WANTED flyer thinking of how the media had propagandized her existence.

"'Wanted,'" Rika read the same flyer for the umpteenth time just for amusement, "'Treacherous criminal, known only to the city as Midnight Fox.' Oh, Pul-lease! 'Midnight Fox?'" She rolled her eyes for practically the hundredth time upon thinking of those two words which now made up her assumed name. "People can be so ignorant and stupid. Imagine that- Rika Nonaka, also known as the great Midnight Fox. I sound like some corny television superhero." She almost laughed at the thought of how famous she was right now. The funny thing, though, was the fact that the city knew nothing of the thief, they only knew of Midnight Fox's existence. 

Midnight Fox was a stealthy and very skilled thief who only attacked during the night. _Well, duh,_ Rika rolled her eyes at the thought. What thief in their right mind would steal during the day and risk getting caught? Not that she'd never do it. Rika was always up for a nice challenge. 

Besides that one fact about Midnight Fox, though, no one knew anything else about her. Heck, they didn't even know what kind of a person she was. Some made many different assumptions about her. She was a dangerous criminal, armed and murderous- like a wild animal that refused to be tamed. She was a hero in the minds of the majority- a modern day Robin Hood- most of what she stole was used to help charities and hospitals, given to those who were truly in need. Though, again, there was no proof of what she truly did with the items and valuables she stole. The sole truth of her actions was yet to be known by the public. Everything else was just an assumption.

She turned away from the flyer, wondering why she even bothered to read them besides the fact that the information seemed to change every other day with the cash reward increasing. She'd been seeing those flyers for the past two or maybe three years already. _I guess they're really desperate to find me,_ she laughed. 

The police force had been tracking her for the past seven years; ever since she was sixteen, though she had begun her work when she was fifteen- two years after she'd joined Hypnos. The police just didn't begin taking her seriously until they couldn't figure out why they were always so far behind each of her intended heists, and why they could never seem to figure out who it was who committed these crimes each night. Not once had any of the cops who'd been on her tail in the past tried to track her before she made her move. They didn't even know that she'd taken action until the very next day, after the owners of whatever priceless item discovered it was missing.

But then again, of course they wouldn't be able to track her. Midnight Fox was one of the most careful thieves in history. The training she'd gone through and her determination made sure that she would be. She never left behind clues- no foot prints, no finger prints and nothing else that would give her away. Not even security cameras or alarms were able to detect her. Also, she always worked fast. Got in, grabbed the item and then got back out. Not enough time to raise suspicion that someone else was in the building besides the midnight watch guard. Besides those special skills, she also made a point to remain unpredictable. She'd never let on where she planned to be at each night.

If the police believed that she would be at wealthy Mr. Jones's mansion to steal his ancient jade plated vase worth millions, then she would indefinitely be going down the street to the Harland's private museum to take the old age Shogun period Mekki Blade of Heaven, which was worth just as much. Sometimes, however, Midnight Fox liked to play with the police officers' heads by actually robbing the place they expected her to be at. But because of her stealth and skill... AND her intelligence, the police didn't even know she had shown. Those police officers were always so easy to fool. It'd been seven years, and they'd passed the case on to team after team after team. And still, no one was able to even coming close to knowing where she intended to rob. It was pretty pathetic.

However, there _was_ one particular detective whom the night thief suspected was becoming closer on her trail. Even the organization she worked for suspected it. She'd seen him show up a few times, even though most of those times, she'd already left the scene and he was already too late. Still, he was becoming closer and that was not a good thing.

But no matter. Midnight Fox wasn't one to panic. Until this detective actually caught her, she wouldn't worry. Chances are, he wasn't going to be able to get any closer. Rika would just have to be more careful and come up with better tactics.

She sighed and raised the bagged package in her hand, looking at it with content in her eyes, _Another night, another heist._ Another artifact that Hypnos would be secretly transporting back to her native country where it belonged. _When will these people learn?_ She almost sighed sadly, but remembered why she was doing this in the first place. No matter what anybody said, she knew she was doing the right thing. 

There've always been those times before, though, that she'd found herself doubting her actions. Yes, it was the right thing. In her heart, she was doing a good thing for the community... but it was still legally wrong and she wasn't sure just how much longer she'd be able to keep this up...

*flashback*

The teenage girl clutched the letter in her hand. She couldn't go through with it anymore. It was too much for her to take. She was only seventeen.

The letter contained her reason for leaving so suddenly. She had no other choice. If she even tried to tell him to his face, then he would definitely try to stop her. At least now, while no one was around, she could slip out easily without anyone's knowledge- no one to hold her back.

Of course, with the intense training she'd been going through for the past few years of her life, no one could be able to hold her back. Not physically. By strength and wits, she knew she had the upper hand. But that man! She clenched her fist, wrinkling the enveloped letter in her fist. Her naive uncle. He would find some way to convince her to stay. He always had.

Quickly, she walked into the main room of the building. The lights were out, meaning that no one was there. That was good. Now was a good time to leave. She pulled her back pack further up onto her shoulder. All she had to do now, was leave the letter and walk out. By the time they found the letter, she'd be long gone. And though they'd send people in search of her, they'd never be able to find her.

She almost laughed aloud. They should've known better than to allow her to train so hard. To allow her to become the top agent of Hypnos.

She sighed and placed the letter in the center of the first desk she came to and turned to leave. A noise, however, caught her attention and it was then that she realized that the building was not completely empty. The office in the back of the main room was currently full of activity as two men chatted freely. One of whom, she realized, was her uncle. Curiosity getting the best of her, she stealthily crossed the room and stood to the side of the open door, eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Well, Clarence," it was the voice of the head of the whole organization that both she and her uncle worked for... both public and underground, "it seems we've succeeded in completing yet another piece of business." The man leaned back and relaxed, "It's wonderful, what this organization has been doing for our people. For this country and ours."

"I know," it was her uncle's voice, "Hypnos was an excellent idea. I just hope that this can really help out the people by disrupting those black underground markets. Not only are we giving back to the community, but we're also returning what is rightfully ours to Japan. Such amazing work we've done. If not for your dream, Mr. Yamaki-"

"No, it was a group effort," Yamaki spoke. He smiled one of his rarely seen warmth-filled smiles, "I especially have to thank you, Clarence. For bringing Rika into this organization. She's an outstanding member to Hypnos. I just hope we're not putting too much pressure on her. She is, after all, still a child."

Clarence sighed sadly, "I've always had higher hopes for my niece. I just hope that _I _ didn't ruin her childhood by bringing her in. But... there was no other option for me. When we arrived in America, we were unable to contact her mother. And it seemed that Rika... she didn't really want to contact Makino, though I don't know why. I couldn't leave her by herself, even _if_ she can take care of herself." He sighed again, "If she hadn't have discovered this place, though, I would've never offered to have her help us."

"It wasn't your fault," his supervisor spoke, "your niece, she's a special girl. I'm sure that even _if_ you hadn't introduced her, she would've found her way into this mess. Or, even, with her intelligence, skill and talent, we would have searched her out soon enough. You don't have to worry."

"It is true," Clarence nodded, "She is a very special girl. She's helped us with so much already. Do you know that the city's already given her a nickname? Midnight Fox. They have absolutely no idea who she really is. So they call her 'Midnight Fox.' For the fact that she's stealthy, sneaky and skilled. Can you believe that?" The two men laughed.

*end flashback*

It was because she'd heard those words again. The same ones that had made her join Hypnos in the first place. Because of those words, she had decided not to leave and remain working for the organization. After all, they were doing great things. Even if it _was_ in secret. And even if it was more illegal than it was secret.

Unlike the Hypnos of the past, the Hypnos of the present was giving to the community without harming anything in it's way... that is, except for those occasional foolish persons who worked for the wealthy and gluttonous high society people. 

Those high society rich people who were always looking down on others just because they could. Those people who had all the money in the world and refused to share with the less fortunate. And those people who made a life of cheating even more valuables from the people of the city just for their own joy and amusement and luxury, not even stopping to think of how the less fortunate could be effected.

Rika, herself had already exterminated a few of those people. They deserved it. People like that just repulsed her like no other. If not for the fact that her job description only included thievery and disruption of black underground market activity, she would've gladly taken on full time assassination. There were some people who would just make that job worthwhile. After all, that _was_ one of the things she was trained to do. But for now, she only did it once and a while as "voluntary work," or if she had no other choice.

Hypnos was a great organization and Rika would do anything for it. What she did now, it had made her life worthwhile again. It kept her busy enough that she didn't have to think of the past anymore. The past that she discovered, still tried to haunt her present life.

Rika shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling on insignificant matters...

The masked thief of the night turned back toward the back door of the building she'd just robbed before leaving the darkness of the alleyway. But she wasn't looking back wondering whether she'd forgotten anything. The great Midnight Fox has never been so careless as to leave anything behind. Instead, she was again in wonderment about the same repetitive thought she had every time her act was committed, _Why don't they ever have higher security systems? They make this job way too easy for me._ And with that last silent comment, she turned and darted out the alleyway into the moonlit street.

***

"This is going too far," Kari Kamiya slammed the manila folder down onto her commissioner's desk. She looked up at her dark haired subordinate standing before her, "Shut the door." The boy complied, turning to do as he was told.

Kari slumped down onto her comfortable leather seat and leaned back, "I don't know how to answer the media- the people!- about this anymore. Take a seat." There was a light knock on the door, causing the already stressed commissioner to groan in anger. She took a deep breath before answering, "Who is it?"

"Commissioner, Ma'am," a male voice called in, "It's me, William."

"Come in," she practically huffed over her stress, "What do you want?"

"There's been another robbery at the University of LA," the man walked into the office as he spoke, revealing a scrawny brown-headed thirty-five year old.

Kari rolled her eyes and gave the older man an uninterested look. _As if anything new ever happens anymore,_ she thought. She nodded, "Midnight Fox?" As she thought about the infamous criminal, she could already feel those tired wrinkles pull harder at her forehead. Soon, even letting her dark brown bangs hang down wouldn't be enough to cover them up.

William didn't even think it was necessary to confirm his superior's guess, "That's the tenth one this week at the University, Ma'am."

"Thank you, William," Kari sighed with a tone of annoyance. The man nodded and then left the room, remembering to shut the door behind him to leave the two in privacy... somewhat in privacy. Unknown to the commissioner and her subordinate, a crowd of people were huddled up around the office door, each trying to catch any sign of yelling and screaming.

"You hear that?" Kari looked across her desk at the younger boy. She wasn't going to yell. She wasn't going to scream. And most importantly, she wasn't going to blame. After all, even _she_ knew that Midnight Fox was pretty tricky. It was just all the complaining coming from _her_ supervisors that was getting to her.

"Another robbery," she continued, "And the tenth one at the university _this_ week. This is getting way out of hand, Henry. When are you going to finish off this mission?" She kept her voice calm. There wasn't even one tone of annoyance, nor was there blame expressed. Only weariness. "Why don't I assign you a partner? Things might go faster if-"

"No," the dark haired boy shook his head finally speaking. A stern expression was etched on his face, rather than the usual nervous, scared look that Kari always saw when she called a private one on one meeting with her subordinates. And that was what made him different. If it weren't for the situation, Kari would've smiled and praised Henry over and over again for his uniqueness in attitude as opposed to other's she'd worked with before.

"And why not?" Kari, though impressed with this young man before her, was determined not to show it. She leaned forward to hear what Henry's response would be. She really didn't have to hear it, though. She'd heard his answer to this question before. And every time it was the same.

"I work alone, Ma'am," Henry spoke, the tone in his voice unchanging, "I don't need a partner. I can handle this on my own." He remained unmoving in his seat. His sharp gray eyes looking directly at his superior, letting her know that he was serious; letting her know of his confidence.

"Fine," Kari sighed. She smirked, "Every time I suggest a partner, you decline with that same reason." She leaned back again, studying the boy in front of her. He was a very determined and confident boy. Very skilled in what he does too. Ever since he'd joined the force, there has been no assignment that he couldn't finish. And many were completed in record time too, making the majority of the senior officers jealous.

"That's because-" Henry began.

"I know, you already said... about a hundred times," Kari sighed, sleep beginning to overtake her. She shook the sleep from her eyes, "I need to warn you, though, Henry. _My_ bosses are beginning to whine. If we don't find out who this Midnight Fox is- and not just find out, we need to arrest whoever he or she is too- we're in trouble. They will give the assignment to someone else. You know how bad that would look. Not only for our team, but also on your record. Especially since _you're_ the one who asked to work on this assignment alone _and_ assured everyone that you'd be able to handle it."

"I understand," Henry nodded, "I _can_ handle it and I _am_ on it."

"That's what you told me a week after you took the assignment," Kari shook her head, "That was a year ago. You have been following this case for a year. You have been following this Midnight Fox for a year. What have you found out? I don't even get any weekly reports from you anymore!"

"Ma'am-" Henry began again. He wanted to tell his supervisor how close he really was to solving this case. 

For the past year, he'd been coming closer and closer to figuring out the mind of Midnight Fox. He'd even begun to start thinking like the thief too, reasoning that it was the only way to find out where Midnight Fox's next target would be. 

Besides that, he'd also found out a few petty things about Midnight Fox. Like the fact that Midnight Fox was female. He had remembered catching a glimpse of her before she disappeared on him one night. From her figure, he'd concluded that Midnight Fox was indeed a young girl. And a very stealthy and skilled young girl at that. That was unnecessary information, though.

Henry didn't want to tell about anything yet. It'd give his supervisor a false sense of hope. It might give everyone else a false sense of hope. Henry knew how tricky and witty this female thief was and he wasn't even one hundred percent sure that he'd be able to catch her. On top of that, however, something else about Midnight Fox really bothered him. The only few times that he'd been able catch glimpses of the thief, he felt a weird sensation that even _he_ wasn't sure what it was. A feeling of familiarity? Or could it be...? He just wasn't sure.

But, nonetheless, he wasn't going to give up that easily on this thief. He was going to unravel this case, no matter what. He wasn't about to let a lousy female night thief ruin his excellent record on the force. He wouldn't let it happen. He would capture Midnight Fox... And he would do it on his own too.

"I trust you, Henry," Kari spoke, breaking his line of thought, "You've never failed me before. You have been one of the force's best. That's why I didn't object when you asked to take on this job on your own when it was passed to our team. But it's been one year, Henry. One year!" She shook her head, "I'm really sorry to have to do this to you, Henry, but..." She looked at the now nervous face of Henry Wong, "Henry, I'm giving you another month to complete this assignment, if it's not done by then, I'll be giving you a partner. And if worse comes to worse... I may have to pass this case on to someone else. It's only a matter of time before my superiors decide to give this assignment to another team to work on. The first team only got a year. The last one before us, were lucky enough to get two. I don't know how much longer we'll have, but I'm hoping that our team will be the one to close up this case. Now, that's all I have to say. Any questions?"

Henry shook his head, the confidence and determination re-entering his expression once again.

"Good," Kari nodded, "Remember, Henry. One month. You've got one more month."

"I understand," the boy nodded and stood and waited to be dismissed.

"I can only give you that much," Kari spoke, "I trust you Henry and I have confidence in you. Show me you can do it. Dismissed."

"Thank you, Commissioner," Henry nodded. He turned and left the office.

______________________________________________________________

So, how was it? Hope everyone liked it. If you have any questions concerning this fic or any other fic of mine, feel free to ask. I will try to answer them in my next post.

I'm currently trying my best to complete 'Pride and Love.' I assure everyone that I will finish it. I'm just more into Henry/Rika fics right now.

Again, I've changed my pen name so I'm no longer MysticJade.

Fics by me:

'Pride and Love' - my most popular fic. A Taiora following the concepts of the story of Fa Mulan. NOT truly based on Disney's Mulan.

'Thank You For Loving Me' - another fic that seems to be getting a lot of positive feedback. A Kouyako that is very, _very _sappy in the end. *shudders* Never again....

For other fics by me, look them up on my profile. Until next time- please review. Thanx. ^_^


	2. 2

Author's Note: And here's chapter two. I have to thank the readers who have reviewed thus far. I'm glad people like it. Also, a shout out to all the Henrika lovers out there. I'm contributing what little I can since this couple doesn't seem to be as popular as the others.

The only annoying part of this fic would be all the flashbacks that I've put in. But those are necessary for the storyline.

This is the shortest author's note I've written for any fic, considering I usually have tons to say. ^_^

Again, thank you to those who have reviewed my fic.

Disclaimer: Another chapter, another disclaimer. I do not own Digimon and nor do I own any of the characters from the anime.

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~Chapter 2~

Makino Nonaka grumbled as she fumbled around with her shopping bags and one purse. She muttered silently under her breath at how inconsiderate her current boyfriend was for leaving her at the department store by herself. Joshua knew how much she would have to carry home, it's not like it was a big difference every time she went shopping.

She growled inaudible profanity when she realized he had taken the car with him when he left about an hour ago. Now she'd have to hail a taxi cab, or if worst comes to worse, take the subway or the bus. She absently shivered from the cool breeze that blew by while she stood by the side of the road, waiting semi-patiently for any sign of a taxi cab coming her way. So far... nothing.

Whimpering angrily because of her tired arms, she gently set down her ten to fifteen bags from the various department stores she'd been to that morning. She ran a hand through her sandy blonde shoulder length hair and then rolled her eyes at the passersby who gave her crazy looks for spending so much on unnecessary items such as twenty different perfumes from _Estee Lauder_. The woman shook her head as she pulled her wool coat tighter around her body, trying her hardest to keep out the cold.

__

They wouldn't understand, Makino sighed in exasperation at how ignorant some people were to her needs. She reach up and tightened the dark purple scarf around her neck, then hugged herself, gently rubbing her upper arms to keep warm. After all, _they_ weren't famous supermodels. SHE needed to keep up with the latest fashion. That _was_ what most models did, right?

She didn't have time to contemplate the subject anymore as she spotted the first taxi that had appeared down Bell Lane all morning. _Finally_, she thought, reaching one arm down to pick up half her bags and extending the other arm to hail the taxi. Mentally, she checked off a list of complaints she would be naming off to Joshua when she saw him next: one, cold nippy air; two, long wait for taxi; three...

The taxi stopped seconds after Makino had waved for it, but before she could even reach for the door, something slammed into her causing her to fly off, away from the vehicle. She gave out a cry as she felt herself lunge toward the ground, a few of her bags become crumpled under by her weight and her purse flung off of her arm. Fortunately for her, though, she fell into a nice pair of strong arms which happened to be passing by at the time.

"Are you alright, Ma'am?" a dark haired young boy smiled down at her. His gray eyes twinkled from the afternoon sun and the warmth shown through his eyes.

Makino smiled warmly back at him, glad that there were at least _some_ considerate young people now a days. She nodded and glanced back toward the taxi cab just as the door slammed shut after a tall, scrawny boy climbed in. She scowled and stood to her feet as she watched the taxi drive away. _That's another thing Joshua will be hearing about_, she mentally checked off the next item of complaints on her list as she cursed her bad luck. She didn't even have a chance to scream at that scrawny taxi stealer. She hmphed, _He probably wasn't even in that much of a hurry._

She huffed angrily, then remembering the boy who'd aided her just a few seconds ago, she turned to face him. She found him bent on the ground, retrieving all the fallen contents of her bag. She smiled and squatted next to him as she studied the strong muscular build of this young man hidden underneath the baggy black leather coat and black t-shirt he wore. His barely noticeable strands of hair fell across his right eye as he was stooped over picking up the items from the model's purse.

"Thank you very much, young man," Makino acknowledged. She smiled warmly at him. If only she were twenty years younger... He was about her daughter's age. Makino shook her head, shooing away all the sinful thoughts _and_ the depressing thoughts from her mind. She reached for her purse and allowed the young man to stuff the items he'd picked up back in. Then her eyes laid on the last item. Her eyes saddened and all she could do was stare. Of all the things to see today, it had to be "that."

The young man reached for the same item, but he, himself stopped in mid-reach as he eyed the open wallet with a look of recognition in his eye. He finally picked it up and examined the picture inside the wallet, then looked back up at the woman who seemed to be out in a daze.

"Ms. Nonaka?" Henry couldn't believe who was squatting right in front of him at the moment. He wasn't too sure at first, though Makino Nonaka _was_ a famous model. But models always seemed to look different in person. There was also the fact that Makino was no longer the famous young model she used to be. The people of Henry's generation would undoubtedly not recognize her that easily. Fashion crazes changed every day and so did celebrity crazes. As for Henry, he'd been tied up in all his work so much lately that he didn't even bother with the latest celebrity news. Not that he really cared for it too much.

He looked down at the picture he held in his hand. The picture of three females stared back up at him. One, an old sweet looking grandmother whom anyone would readily curl up by the fire with a nice long book with; the second, a beautiful young mother who nobody would've ever guessed was a mother; and lastly, a young girl with that ever so rare smile and her twinkling violet eyes. If it hadn't been for this picture, Henry would've never guessed who the woman in front of him was... and his memories he had temporarily laid aside would remain forgotten also.

"How did you-?" she began in confusion, but then stopped and smiled. Finally, she'd found a young person of the new generation who recognized all the fame and glory she'd worked for when she was younger! She felt her drab mood lighten up, until the boy spoke to her again.

"Rika," Henry whispered softly, recalling one of his childhood friends. Actually, his best friend after he'd been able to break through the cool, cold-hearted and uncaring exterior that Rika Nonaka built up to ward off possible friendships. He smiled and handed the wallet back to Makino so she could replace it back into her purse, "You're Rika's mother. Remember me, Ms. Nonaka?"

Makino almost frowned, but only sighed in disappointment. _Face it, Makino_, she thought, _you're old news now._

"Is something wrong?" Henry looked taken aback at the woman's change in expression.

"Oh, nothing," Makino stood up, "Nothing at all." But her expression immediately became curious, "How do you know me?"

"I'm Henry Wong," Henry replied, "Remember me? I was one of Rika's friends."

"Henry?" Makino blinked as she retraced her memory of before she'd moved to America, leaving behind Japan... and her daughter. She sighed sadly and looked up at Henry, "I have a vague recognition of you." She then tilted her head in more curiosity, "When did _you_ come here? The last I remember..." She trailed off as thoughts of her one and only daughter arose in her mind again. She could recall that last day she'd stayed in Japan with her daughter as if it were yesterday. It had been the very last time that she'd seen Rika, or spoke to the auburn haired young girl.

There hadn't been one day in her whole life that she thought about Rika... and searched for her.

*flashback*

The sliding door flung open causing the people in the house to look up in surprise. In burst Makino Nonaka, waving excitedly in her hand a small envelope. A large smile covered her face.

"You'll never guess!" she shouted aloud, "This is so exciting!"

Rika exchanged glances with her grandmother sitting next to her. She then looked up at her mother questioningly, though her grandmother asked her question for her.

"What is it, Dear?" the old lady smiled sweetly, though a little concerned for her daughter's outburst.

"Take a look at this!" Makino placed the unlabeled envelope down onto the low table right in front of her daughter. She then knelt down across from Rika as the young girl curiously reached for the item, all the while searching her mother's face for answers.

She glanced to her left where her grandmother sat. She nodded, urging the young girl to continue.

"Open it," Makino eagerly awaited her daughter's reaction, hoping that the young girl would be just as thrilled as she was.

Rika lifted the flap of the envelope and carefully pulled out two slips which looked suspiciously like plane tickets. Upon flipping the two slips of hard stock paper over to look at the shiny and colorful side, she confirmed that they were indeed, plane tickets. Rika looked up at her mother, and shook her head, not understanding her mother's intentions.

"They're plane tickets, Rika!" Makino stated.

Rika looked down at the tickets in her hand again. The words on the tickets clearly noted that the destination was Los Angeles, California... in America.

"We're leaving in two weeks," Makino beamed, "Isn't that exciting? I'm already all packed... Well, Ken told me that there wouldn't be too much of a need to pack everything. What we don't bring, we can find there." She pointed at the tickets in Rika's hands, indicating that she meant America.

"What do you mean?" Rika's former happy expression from the morning slowly slipped into one of dread and anger.

"You, your grandmother, and I are going to America!" Makino squealed, "Those are you're two tickets. Ken has mine." She smiled dreamily at the mention of her most recent boyfriend.

"You mean, as a vacation?" Rika carefully spoke. She hadn't been on a vacation in a long time. Maybe this might be a nice get away, though she'd really hate to leave her friends behind. She couldn't possibly think what she would do without her friends... without one particular friend by the name of Henry Wong...

"Of course not, silly!" Makino sighed and clasped her hands dreamily, "Ken offered me a job in LA as a supermodel. He is, after all, the owner of a top agency in America. And if I'm going to be working in America, that means that we'll be moving there."

Rika blinked, unbelieving. She looked at her grandmother, whose expression remained neutral, though Rika could see right passed her. Her grandmother was not at all thrilled with the idea of moving to America. At least not at her age. But as usual, she remained silent.

"Oh! This is like a dream come true!" Makino continued to daydream out loud, "I can't believe I'm actually going to America. I can't believe _we're _all going to America! This is so exciting! Think of all the things we could do there, Rika!"

"Mom," Rika spoke softly, though her mother seemed not to hear as she continued to chatter away, mostly to herself.

"Maybe we can finally find some nice designer clothing for you, Rika," Makino suggested. She set her hand on her chin and studied the Digimon print white t-shirt Rika was wearing with her usual jeans. She didn't remember when Rika seemed to have stopped wearing that broken heart shirt she was always seen with. Makino shrugged, "Maybe not the fancy stuff, I won't force you into it-"

"Mother," Rika tried again, with no luck.

"I know how much you hate wearing dresses," her mother continued, not even noticing the escalated anger in Rika's voice and the concerned looks on the older lady's face, "I can start by buying you designer jeans. I just know you'll love them-" She stopped abruptly when Rika roughly stood to her feet. The young girl's chest heaved heavily as she took in each breath in anger.

"Rika?" Makino looked up, and for the first time, saw the hurt and angered expression on Rika's face ever since she'd shown them the tickets.

"Mother," Rika spoke tartly, not even attempting to sound compromising, "I'm not going to America. I'm staying right here." Before anyone else could say anything- before Makino could protest- Rika had already ran out of the small living room. The tickets still sitting on the small table in the room.

"What?" Makino blinked, not comprehending the situation at all.

"You still have a lot to learn about your own daughter, my dear," the older woman spoke sadly and shook her head at Makino.

"But I don't understand, Mother," Makino pleaded with her own mother, "Why doesn't she want to go to America? Why must Rika be so difficult?"

"And why must you make decisions of her life, for her?" Grandmother Nonaka sighed, "Don't you see, Makino? Rika doesn't want to go anywhere. She's still young and this is where she grew up. This is where she wants to grow up. Where all her friends are. Where she's familiar with the area. Moving to another location will be hard for her to adjust."

"But-" Makino began but her mother cut her off.

"Listen to me, my daughter," she continued, "I know how exciting this is for you. And how happy this experience will be for you. But have you stopped to think about Rika's happiness. You two have just begun to connect. Don't ruin it by doing anything impulsive. You understand what I'm saying?"

"Mother," the young model slumped to the ground, "I- But- Won't moving be a great experience for Rika, also?" She watched as her mother answered her with a shake of the head, 'no.' Makino nodded, in understanding. It would definitely be hard for Rika to move away. After all, like her mother said, all her friends were here. If they moved, then Rika would have to leave behind all her friends. And that would mean Rika would be unhappy. The last thing Makino wanted was to see her only daughter unhappy.

*

The sound of footsteps alerted the thirteen year old girl, causing her to look up. Immediately, the scowl on her face subsided though her downcast expression was still there.

"Hey, Rika," Henry smiled down at his best friend, his gray eyes seemed to be twinkling all the time from his joyous mood. He walked around the herb garden and sat down next to Rika, leaning against the huge tree trunk.

"Hey, Henry," Rika barely mumbled as she stared at the swaying grass on the ground next to her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Henry sat up and tilted his head to get a good view of Rika's sad face. He reached out and gently pulled Rika to face him.

Rika shivered. Even the mere thought of Henry even touching her gave her tiny jolts of excitement and caused her heart to pound at a faster rate.

"What's wrong, Rika?" Henry asked. He lowered his hand, much to Rika's disappointment, "You can tell me."

Rika sighed and looked down. She shook her head. What good would telling Henry do? It wasn't like he'd be able to stop her mother's rash decisions. Besides that, she didn't want to ruin Henry's mood at the moment. He seemed very cheery. Also, she didn't want to have to explain to Henry what was going on. That she had to leave soon, and why she felt so strongly about staying.

"Come on, Rika," Henry again placed his hand on Rika's face and pulled her back up to face him, "You know you can tell me anything. We're best friends."

Rika nodded, "Yeah. Best friends." _And that's all we are,_ Rika sighed. She still didn't want to tell him. But if best friends was all they would be, then there would be no harm to him if she mentioned anything. And if she was going to leave soon, she may as well drop a few hints before she left. If she didn't say anything now, then she'd never get a chance to tell him how she felt. That she liked him... as more than just a friend... more than just a best friend.

"Okay," Rika began, "My mother-" she was cut off by a woman's voice calling her name. Rika looked up and saw her mother standing at the entrance to their herb garden. The petite woman was smiling warmly at her, with a look of pleading in her eyes.

"Rika, honey," Makino slowly spoke, "I think we need to talk." She glanced at the boy sitting next to Rika and nodded to him as she fully understood one of the reasons why Rika was so unwilling to leave her home, "Hello, Henry."

"Hi, Ms. Nonaka," Henry responded. He looked toward Rika and smiled, "You can tell me later." He looked back at the older woman, realizing that this was important to her. That she truly needed to speak to her daughter.

"But-" Rika had really wanted to tell Henry her feelings. What if she never had a chance like this again?

"Rika, please," Makino bit her lip in anticipation of her daughter's reaction.

Rika looked from Henry to her mother, then back to Henry. He smiled warmly at her, letting her know that he would still be there when she returned. That she could tell him then. Rika finally nodded and pulled herself to her feet. Taking another glance at Henry, she circled around the garden and joined her mother.

*

"I understand, Rika," her mother began as soon as they'd entered Makino's room, "That you don't want to leave your home." She remained facing the back wall, waiting for a reply. When she didn't receive one, she slowly turned around to see Rika looking at her, expressionless, as if waiting for her to continue.

"I just wanted to talk to you about this, Rika," Makino lowered herself onto the ground, seating herself comfortably on the rug beneath her. Rika did the same, seating herself across from her mother.

"What is there to talk about?" Rika spoke tartly, though she knew that she should at least give her mother a chance to speak first, "I'm not going to America, Mother. I'm staying here. I thought I'd already made that point clear."

"Rika-" her mother began to speak, but was cut off.

"And what about Grandma?!" Rika burst out, "Grandma isn't exactly as young as she used to be. She can't go moving to another country just because _you_ decide to follow another one of your _boyfriends_ there. How could you ask her to do something like that for you?"

Makino remained silent. She looked down at the red and yellow patterns of the rug lain across her floor. The longer she stared the more the colors seemed to swirl into each other. Finally, she looked back up at Rika who had remained expressionless the whole time.

"Rika," her mother spoke, "Do you truly feel that strongly against leaving this home?"

Rika only nodded to confirm the statement. She thought she'd already made herself clear. Never had she ever thought of moving away from her home... from her friends. From Henry. She didn't think she was being very selfish at the moment. After all, she'd been right about one thing- her grandmother couldn't very well just up and move away from their home and live in a completely unfamiliar area. It wouldn't be very good on her health. So that would mean that Makino had made a selfish decision by agreeing that she and her family would be leaving for America in two weeks just so that she could pursue her modeling career and live with her rich boyfriend, Ken, who wasn't even all that good looking anyway.

"Why?" Makino knew she'd hit a sensitive subject, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Better ask now than never.

"For grandma," Rika answered too quickly as if she'd already rehearsed what she wanted to say if she were to be asked a similar question.

"Is that all?" Makino insisted, "Or is it also for your friends? For that boy? Henry?"

If possible, Rika's eyes narrowed even more than they'd been already. She didn't like where this conversation was going. All she wanted was to make clear that she would be staying in Japan and not leaving for America. She wasn't about to sit around and talk 'girl-talk' about boys and silly crushes. At least not now. Now was not the best time.

"He has nothing to do with this conversation, Mother," Rika spoke slowly, making sure that her mother understood each word that was coming out of her mouth. Unknown to her, however, her eyes had deceived her. Just as eyes always do for a human, they showed her true emotions and feelings. What she was really thinking. She had been told before by her best friend that no matter how much she tried to mask her true self, her eyes would always betray her.

Makino understood and only nodded, knowing that if she pursued the subject any further, Rika would most likely never speak to her for months. It had happened before, and there was no doubt that it could happen again. Fortunately for her, Rika had softened over the past year and was no longer the cold uncaring person she had pretended to be- that she had made everyone around her believe as Rika Nonaka. And because of this, her relationship with Rika had grown closer and more openly expressed. She was thankful for this. Her mother was right, she didn't want to ruin what she had with Rika right now. That would be horror on her part.

"Rika," Makino began again, "Hear me out. Please. I won't force you to do anything that you honestly don't want to do. I'll let you decide on your own what you want to do. But I truly, from the bottom of my heart, hope that you will join me.

"This opportunity in America," she continued, "You know how much I've always wanted to expand my career to the American cities. It's the chance of a lifetime! I can't give it up. And I wanted you to be there with me. I also hoped that we, as mother and daughter, would be able to spend more time together. To get to know each other again. Start from the beginning.

"But," she bit her lip, "I also want you to be happy, Rika. If you really want to stay here, then I won't force you to leave. I'll just inform Ken and he can easily return the tickets. What do you say Rika? Please, think it over."

Rika sighed. She felt mixed emotions. She was dead set on staying home, but after hearing what her mother had said, she wasn't too sure if she wanted to disappoint her mother. But there was also the factor that her grandmother wouldn't be able to travel. She couldn't be left at home by herself either. And since she loved her grandmother more than anything in the world, Rika knew exactly what her answer was. There was also a tiny bit of the fact that she really didn't want to leave her friends... Henry. She just wished that there could be a way to satisfy her mother as well.

"Mom," Rika spoke gently, "I really wish that... It's not that I don't want to go with you..." She looked into her mother's eyes to see the disappointment, but also understanding. She didn't know how to finish off her statement. She knew her mother would be disappointed and sad. She looked away, not speaking while an awkward silence followed.

"Promise you'll write to me?" Makino smiled and spoke after a few seconds, "And I promise that I'll write back. And I'll come and visit you also, when I have the time."

Rika nodded and gave her mother one of her rare warm smiles, "Thank you, Mom." She scooted closer and gave her mother a tight, loving hug- yet another rare action Rika Nonaka did.

"Now, go get dinner ready," Makino sighed, "Oh, and ask Henry if he'd like to stay for dinner."

Rika nodded and turned to leave, but stopped, "Mom?"

"Yes, Dear?" Makino was in the middle of pulling herself up and heading toward the shower.

"If Henry asks, can you not mention that I decided to stay, you know, just so that I don't have to explain why," Rika blushed a small tint of red.

"I thought that Henry had nothing to do with your decision," Makino teased.

"Mother," Rika warned. When she received the expected nod from her mom, she let out a relax breath and headed away.

*end flashback*

_________________________________________________________

So how was it? I keep asking that same question when I know you'll let me know in those reviews. There isn't very much romance in it yet. Nor is there action, but I'm working my way into those. It's pretty dramatic though, don't you think?

So let me know what you thought. Remember to review. ^_^


	3. 3

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. This fic is really coming along pretty well. Each time I sit down to write, I know exactly what I'm going to write. I only got into the problem of the ages of Henry and Rika. So if anyone is as confused as I am, I'm using the age of ten as when the Digimon Tamers stuff took place. Henry and Rika both left Japan at the age of thirteen which was the same age Rika joined into the new Hypnos. This fic takes place ten years after the two tamers left Japan.

Okay, hopefully that clears things up a bit. At least for me it does. Any questions, feel free to ask. I will try to answer them to the best of my ability. However, I'm not a genius so don't try asking me questions such as "How many rings are there around Uranus while Saturn is in it's forth orbit around the sun during the year 2399?" I'm sorry, those questions are way out of my league.

And to answer some of the questions:

Yes, Makino really is Rika's mother's name in the English dubbed version of Digimon Tamers. Why? I have no clue, but it sounds cool, right? Anyway-

Yes, there will be romance in this fic soon.

Until then...

Disclaimer: I do not own..................

________________________________________________________

~Chapter 3~

She gasped. Not again. She'd had that dream again.

Rika sat up and looked around her, realizing that she was in the comfort of her isolated home. The ancient Japanese style sliding doors and the familiar rugs and tables brought her back to reality. She was no longer in the past of her horrid life- the grandmother who had left her; the mother who had abandoned her; and the boy who had walked out of her life.

Her dream had seemed so real to her. As if she had been living through her past once again. It had come back to haunt her, though she'd tried so hard to forget every inch of her memories from the past. Her hand settled on her lap where a smooth covered magazine sat. Maybe it had been something she'd read that triggered that dream, "Ugh! That is the last time I take an afternoon nap after reading-" she looked down at the magazine in her lap and furrowed her brow. She blinked and studied the before and after photo of the familiar blonde model on the front page of _LA Teens_. The magazine was giving a tribute to older generation models. 

She squinted, wondering if the magazine would suddenly change shape on her, but finally leaned back in disgust, "Since when did _I_ start reading this trash." With a swift slap of her hand, the magazine went flying across the room, sprawling, opened to a mini fold out poster. It was the same before and after picture from the front cover.

Rika glanced at the poster for a second, still thinking about how the blonde model looked so familiar to her. Then, she was reminded of her dream. She knew exactly who that model was. Angrily, she moved across the living room, grabbed the magazine and tossed it into the nearest wastebasket.

That was the last person she'd ever wanted to see. Rika scowled at the picture still staring up at her from the wastebasket and remembered her dream once again. Scratch that, Makino Nonaka wasn't the last person she wanted to see. She was on a long list of last people that Rika'd ever want to see again. Makino was at the top of the list... right next to one of her childhood best friends, Henry Wong.

Rika swallowed a lump in her throat. She would not think about him. She would not! She hadn't thought about Henry for ten years. She wasn't going to start today. Not when she'd been living her new life for so long. She didn't want to have to think about him at all. Not now. Not ever.

Then why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

Rika leaned against the counter as she entered the small kitchen of her house. Her nice comfortable Japanese style house. She remembered back a few years when she had secretly ordered that her old house from Japan be moved to her current residence of Los Angeles, California. She'd found an isolated area deep in the thick woods near the edge of the Sierra Nevada range. No one had ever been there and so she decided that this would be her hide-out from the rest of the world. It had cost her a fortune to move her childhood home to this area, but it had also been worth it. It made her less homesick and it reminded her of all the good times she'd used to have with her grandmother. It was comfortable and isolated. Deep in the woods where no one would ever be able to find her even if they tried... and it'd been years since, yet still no one had been able to find out where she resided. She could stay here forever.

__

Oh, why can't I stop thinking about him? Rika practically yelled at herself. She groaned and glanced around her house. Ironically, this house also brought back the bad memories that she'd been trying for years to forget. The past that she'd been trying to leave behind her. Maybe moving the house here wasn't such a great idea after all. It'd been ten years since he'd walked out of her life. She wasn't about to let the ghost of his past reenter it.

And why? Because she had loved him... and he'd killed her heart. She could remember clearly. She'd remained in Japan when her mother asked her to move to America with her. And why? Partly for him. She hadn't wanted to leave her life in Japan. She hadn't wanted to leave Henry. He'd been the only one who understood her and she didn't want to be away from him. Yes- she was young at the time. But she was sure she knew what love was when it hit her.

She could remember it as if it were only yesterday that she bounded happily back into the herb garden to find her friend after her conversation with her mother. And instead of telling him about her feelings like she'd wanted to before, all she did was ask him to stay for dinner. She remembered that Henry'd expressed concern for Rika's sadness only moments before, of which she explained that her mother would be moving to America soon. She remembered to leave out certain details of how she'd decided to stay because of her grandmother... and because of him. Mostly because of him. It had been at that point that she realized she'd fallen in love with him.

And now, she was even more sure. After ten years, she was still thinking about him. No matter how much she tried to focus on her work- no matter how hard she'd tried to lock away the past- it had come back to haunt her, finally.

She was still in love with him. And even more than ever now. "Time makes the heart grow fonder." Where had she heard of that quote? _Stupid quote,_ Rika thought, _It just had to be right._

She had loved him then and she still loved him now. And what had happened? He'd left her. He had walked out of her life... forever...

*flashback*

Completing the rest of her martial arts routine with a few flips and a vertical roundhouse, Rika landed gracefully onto the soft grass of her herb garden. A smile crossed her lips as she wondered what Henry would think after he saw how well she'd mastered that technique he'd suggested for her. It wasn't much, but with the skill she'd already possessed before, she knew she'd be able to kick his butt, no matter how simple the stances of that routine were.

She looked toward the entrance of her garden as she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. They were those same light footed steps that had been entering her garden so much lately. Her heart skipped a beat in anticipation for the approaching party.

The auburn haired girl calmed herself though. She breathed in the aromatic scent of the herbs all around her. This was why she enjoyed practicing in the herb garden of her house. This was why she liked being around here all the time. It was so refreshing. So calming and soothing to one's soul. Stress free.

Henry had commented on the tranquil feeling that the garden gave anyone who entered. He, himself loved it too. Is that why he was always there? Rika came back to reality just as the dark haired boy rounded the corner and smiled meekly at her. He stood there, leaning against the door frame.

Rika nodded to him in greeting. She would've smiled too, if not for the fact that she noticed the dark cloud over his head. She bit her lower lip. Something wasn't right. Henry was always a cheery boy. He was the type of person who always found joy in every aspect of life. At least that was what he'd taught her to do. That's why she'd lightened up over the past year. Because he'd been with her, helping her see a more positive side of life. He'd managed to break down the barrier separating the world from the true Rika Nonaka who was, in reality, more caring and kind than she usually let on, and he had become her best friend. But now, he wasn't happy. She could tell that much. Something must've really been wrong. She knew this and her heart ached for him.

"Hey, Rika," Henry stood up straight and walked into the herb garden. As he did so, he took in every scent he could pick up. Every image he could emblazon into his mind. Each and every aspect he tried to remember as if it'd be the last time he would walk in here. He finally stopped right in front of his best friend who only eyed him suspiciously.

"Henry?" Rika began. She looked him in the eye. There was something very wrong. But... would he tell her? They were best friends, after all. There should be no secrets between them. _Being just a little hypocritical there, now aren't we, Rika?_ her subconscious poked at her and she almost screamed back at it.

Henry stood there, staring into Rika's eyes and finally spoke the words that would soon break her heart, though he hadn't, at the time, realized how big of an impact that one little sentence had on Rika Nonaka. He hadn't thought it was that significant. He knew she wouldn't be happy about the fact, just like he wasn't, but never had he thought that his few words would crush her heart and his few little actions would indefinitely kill her soul. He smiled grimly, "I've got bad news, Rika. My dad, he's been offered a job somewhere. And..." He trailed off, but saw the pleading look in his friend's eyes.

"Henry?" Rika questioned. This did not sound good. This did not sound good at all. She didn't like what she was hearing and didn't want to hear it.

Then came the harsh slap from reality, "Rika, we're moving. To America."

Rika stood speechless, not knowing what to say to him until finally, reality kicked into her senses and all she could mutter was a "What?" which was half choked up because of the lump that began to form in her throat.

"Dad's job is in Los Angeles," Henry stated simply, "And we have to move there. Our whole family will be moving there."

"You're- you're leaving?" Rika swallowed, "But- but you can't. This is where you grew up. This is where all your friends are."

"I know," Henry nodded, "I don't want to leave either. But I don't have a choice. This is a great opportunity for my dad and well..." He smiled at Rika again, but his smile wasn't enough to mend the broken heart that his words had caused.

"When?" was all Rika managed to choke out.

"In a few weeks. You're the only person I've told so far. Even Takato doesn't know yet," Henry replied, "In a few weeks, we'll be leaving for America..."

*end flashback*

***

As soon as the elevator began to descend to the bottommost level of the building, Andrew turned toward his left and quickly pulled opened the hidden door which would allow him access to the underground organization of Hypnos. The secret door was no mystery to Andrew anymore. He'd been working for the organization for over ten years and knew the whole building inside out. He watched as the red lasers carefully scanned the palm of his hand once and then once more again for accuracy.

"Destination: Lower Level," the same mechanical female voice only sounded whenever the correct credentials were shown through the scanner- and each and every member of Hypnos was documented into the Hypnos main computer, from their name to the smallest physical detail of their body. Otherwise, it would remain quiet.

__

Such high tech stuff, he couldn't help but to smirk proudly at how great his job was. Advanced technology, high pay, awesome benefits... He could go on and on with that list. Ever since the people of Hypnos had searched him out, he'd had nothing but a good life. He ran his hands through his jet black hair which had a messy cropped look to it.

In a matter of seconds, the elevator lift stopped at the requested destination. Andrew smiled and turned around as he awaited the back wall of the elevator to open rather than the sliding doors across from the wall. That was the only way to avert suspicion elsewhere. If the police couldn't see the secret doors, then Hypnos would be able to remain secret.

The young man stepped out of the lift and onto the metallic balcony which led to the lower level, where _the_ Hypnos was located. His shoes ruffled the metal as he made his way down the balcony corridor and around to a set of stairs which led to the main room of Hypnos where the few scattered secretarial cubicles were located. Around the main room were doors that lead to offices and hallways that led to more rooms- break rooms, conference rooms, supply rooms, restrooms and more offices. Aside from all those, there were also the locker rooms, the training gyms, the labs and their one simulation training room. And all of these things were hidden underground, beneath the public building of Yuggoth Trade Center that was used as a cover up for Hypnos.

Andrew smirked yet again as he headed down the first hallway to his right, heading toward Break Room #5. He was glad to be working for Hypnos under the genius only known to the rest of the organization as Yamaki. Indeed, Mr. Yamaki was an intelligent and determined man. He'd kept Hypnos a secret for at least ten years and still no one suspected a thing. To the public, the building was just a trade center and museum. To the members of Hypnos, the building hid the underground organization which was dedicated to disrupting black market activity, helping the community, teaching wealthy snobby people their lessons and importing priceless Japanese ancient artifacts back to their native country.

The break rooms were cozy, designed to make sure that the members of Hypnos would be able to feel a sense of comfort. Hypnos not only looked out for the community, but it also looked out for it's people... most times. Break Room #5 was similar to the rest of the break rooms. There were lockers in the back for holding personal possessions, a table in the center, a soft couch sitting off next to the lockers and a few cabinets, a sink, a microwave oven and a refrigerator across from the couch and lockers.

"And I thought I was the first person here," a voice spoke from behind the dark haired man startling him. Andrew turned around to find, standing right behind him, was his friend and fellow K Team member, Sean Jordan. Sean, a tall, cinnamon haired twenty-five year old had been Andrew's best friend ever since the first day they met when they'd been chosen to serve in Hypnos. And since, the two worked as partners on each and every mission they'd been sent on.

"Anyone else here yet?" Andrew questioned, not exactly expecting an answer. He didn't really care about the others who'd be there.

Sean stood thinking for a second before speaking, "Well, like usual, Mr. Yamaki is here. He's in a meeting with Mr. Nonaka and the other superiors." Sean walked past Andrew into the break room, heading straight for the refrigerator. Andrew followed behind and slumped down onto the comfortable couch.

"Oh," Sean spoke up. He emerged from behind the refrigerator door with a box of milk and a bar of chocolate, "A few of the other teams are already here. I think most of them are in the gyms."

"Is that still edible?" Andrew made a face at the bar of chocolate in Sean's hand. If he wasn't mistaken, he could've sworn he'd seen that candy bar in the fridge a few weeks ago.

Sean only stared at the candy bar for a while, studying the half crumpled Hershey's wrapper before ripping it open. He continued to stare at the now exposed chocolate, also wondering whether or not he could eat it without ending up puking his stomach out. He finally just shrugged and took a nice sized bite out of it, causing Andrew to wince a little, since he still believed that the chocolate bar might not be edible.

Sean closed the fridge door and set the milk carton on the table. He then turned around and rummaged through the cabinet for his favorite mug. It was the only cup he would allow himself to use in the whole building. He'd brought it in himself, claiming that it brought him good luck.

"I saw Midnight Fox on my way in," Sean spoke up, half concealing a chuckle at the nickname, as he scoured the cabinets, still in search of his green and white cup which had his name painted on in a rough manner. It seemed someone may have forgotten that it was _his_ cup. He made an angry face and for once, settled on one of the organization's cups that were kept on the lowest shelf- simple, dark blue mugs. Nothing special about them. Sean refrained from becoming angry. He'd just have to ask someone about his own personal mug later.

"What about her?" a scowl was now painted on Andrew's face. Maybe not the whole organization, but he was sure that his whole team had an inkling that he wasn't too fond of the night thief who'd become so famous in the hearts of all of Los Angeles. Also, who in Hypnos didn't know that Rika Nonaka was one of Mr. Yamaki's favorites, just because of her talent, skill and intelligence? They could call it jealousy. They could call it whatever they wanted to. Andrew just didn't like that girl. She was too... good.

"Awe, come on man," Sean shook his head, "It's not like she ever did anything to you." He smirked when his best friend just huffed and turned his head. Of course, being Andrew Chen's best friend, he knew perfectly well about the dark haired boy's dislike for the most well trained agent at Hypnos. He shook his head, "Well, I think Mr. Yamaki may have another big thing for her to do."

"I don't understand," Andrew pulled himself to his feet, "Why is it that Mr. Yamaki never lets any of _us_ take the big jobs? He's always giving them to _her_. It's not like we can't do it. How much better is she anyway? I don't believe that I wouldn't be able to complete a task that she _can_! I mean, for crying out loud, she's made a mockery of herself already! I mean, the city calls her 'Midnight Fox.' She sounds like some stupid television clown or superhero of some sort!" He gripped one of the chairs at the table angrily as he spoke.

"Hey," Sean chanced a quick glance at the door, making sure that no one had gone by or heard what Andrew had just been ranting about, "Don't say that. The whole organization knows how great of an asset Nonaka is to this whole ordeal. I mean, in the past ten years that she's been here, she's shown Mr. Yamaki that she can handle anything... and very well too. Don't compete with her, Andrew. You know better. Just let her be. She's only a child, after all."

"She's twenty-three! Not that much younger than we are!" Andrew growled, "Age has nothing to do with anything here!"

"Just leave it be," Sean shook his head, "She does her thing and we do ours. So long as we do what we're supposed to do. And we do our best work too; I'm sure Mr. Yamaki won't over look us. Nonaka is just more well known because her uncle is one of Mr. Yamaki's most trusted people."

"Her uncle," Andrew growled again. He slammed his fist onto the table. He couldn't help but to think that Rika Nonaka probably got the better end of things at Hypnos because of Clarence Nonaka. If that wasn't the case, then he didn't know what was. _He_ had been in the organization longer than that "girl" had been and he knew more about Hypnos than she ever would... well, not that much longer, maybe. He remembered that he'd been one of the first agents to be searched out by Hypnos. A year or two later, Rika Nonaka had joined. It was said that she had stumbled in on accident at the age of thirteen and so Mr. Yamaki decided that it would be okay that she remain as a Hypnos agent. That same year was when she began her training. 

But that was beside the point, he knew he paid the organization _and_ the superiors of Hypnos more respect than he'd ever seen from that Nonaka girl. If he remembered correctly, Rika Nonaka seemed to come and go as she pleased. She always did things her own way, only taking orders whenever she wanted to. Not exactly how he felt a Hypnos agent should be acting.

And instead of being lectured on her courtesy toward the organization and the superiors, she was given all the big jobs. Many of the other agents, such as Andrew and Sean, were instead either given dinky little small fry jobs in the ghettos of LA, or were given none at all. The thing about stealing from the ghettos- it was way too easy because no one ever reported missing items if they lived in the ghettos. It was a known fact that it was your own fault if you can't even watch your own possessions long enough for it to not be stolen.

"Calm down, Andrew," Sean placed a reassuring hand on the dark haired boy's shoulder, "One day, we'll be able to show Mr. Yamaki who we really are. And that _we_ are the ones who deserve his praise more than any little girl." He nodded and smiled, hoping that his best friend would see things his way.

Andrew breathed out and his face softened, knowing that this was why Sean Jordan was his best friend and partner. He always knew what to say. Andrew nodded, "We'll show them. I refuse to lose."

***

Rika leaned against one of the vacant desks in a bored manner. She fiddled with her black wrist strap as she awaited her uncle patiently. She almost laughed remembering the old red wrist straps that she had sitting on top of her dresser. The same ones she wore when she was younger. It seemed she didn't really wear any other color except for black anymore. She liked that color. It reflected her mood and present personality- dark, mysterious and full of hate and scorn for the world. Ironic how she was helping the world that she hated so much.

She rolled her eyes around her, spotting the many eager faces of other Hypnos agents who performed the same acts that she did each night. The difference between her and them- she was better. And that proved true considering Hypnos only gave her the hardest jobs... and gave them jobs so small that even a child could take them. 

"Rika," the sound of her uncle's voice interrupted her brief thoughts. The auburn haired girl looked up at him through her purple tinted sunglasses, seemingly uninterested at what her next job would be. After all, it was very rare that Hypnos gave her a direct order. Yamaki usually just told her to do what she wished so long as she showed evidence of her work. And that was exactly what she did. She robbed wherever she pleased to rob and she returned whatever she pleased to return, remembering to give Yamaki and her Uncle Clarence a few weekly reports as were necessary. Unlike the other agents of Hypnos, Rika didn't have boundaries on what she did. She smirked, Hypnos knew better than to keep her confined to certain assignments.

She stood up straight, catching the glare from one of the K Team members standing to the side. She never made an effort to remembering any names. She didn't really need to, considering she worked alone. This was another unique thing about Rika. She wasn't assigned to any particular team like the rest of the agents and members of Hypnos. That was also a smart move on Hypnos's behalf. Rika Nonaka worked alone. 

She ignored the glares coming her way as she moved toward the door of the conference room where Yamaki would be giving Rika her assignment. She didn't need to think to know who this particular black haired boy was. Andrew Chen. He was the only person in Hypnos who dared to openly show his hatred of her. _Jealousy,_ Rika sneered, _He just can't stand to have someone better than him._ Who cared what he thought though? Who cared what anyone thought about her at all? She didn't need anyone's approval for what she did. She didn't care if they hated her. That only meant that she'd have one less person to be nice to. All the better, too.

She stopped at the door of the conference room. Without looking at anyone in particular, she turned her nose up in the air, "If you really wanted to show how useful you are, you should try talking less and working more. Only jealous people who can't do their job would badmouth others who've accomplished more in their childhood than you have in your whole life." With that said, Rika entered the conference room, not even caring to see the change in expression from Andrew Chen who immediately looked like he was ready to strangle the younger girl.

___________________________________________________________

End of chapter. Did you like it? ^_^

Well, let me know what you think. The next chapter will be out soon enough. Until then, keep watching the sky. Maybe you'll be able to figure out how many rings there really are around Uranus. ^_^

Review please. Thanx.


	4. 4

Author's Note: I'm hoping to get this posted before the end of the year, if I do, then Happy New Year to all! 

Answers to reviewer questions-

Rika began working for Hypnos at the age of thirteen and it's been ten years since. Rika had been under training by Hypnos for two years before she was allowed to begin her first job for Hypnos at age fifteen. The police didn't start tracking her until a year later and it's been seven years since. I looked over the part with that and I admit that I slipped up and wrote the wrong number of years. It should be ten and not seven. And I'm the one who wrote it. ^^'' Sorry for that slip up. I've gone back and revised that one part so that others who read won't become confused. Thank you to **rukimakino** for catching my mistake. ^_^

Disclamier: ................................. Um............................ Yeah......................... Whatever............................

_________________________________________________________________

~Chapter 4~

The phone rang for the fourth time as the dark haired detective rushed across the living room, practically lunging for it before the other person hung up. Along his way, Henry had succeeded in knocking over a coat rack, a few pillows off the couch and he'd almost pushed his mother's prized flower vase that sat at the other end of the couch over. How he managed all that was beyond him though? Imagine what all his colleagues would say about him if they found out that the best cop on the force was clumsier than a three year old.

"Hello?!" Henry practically yelled, crossing his fingers hoping that the person on the other end hadn't hung up yet. It was the third time this week that someone decided to call just as he got to his door. It was the third time this week that he'd had to bowl through his messy living room just to get to the phone before the caller hung up. It almost seemed that people planned these calls at that particular time. Probably just to be cruel to him.

A familiar voice called out a hello to him from the other side, interrupting his thoughts.

"Takato?" Henry blinked. It sounded like his old childhood friend. The weird thing, though, was that he hadn't heard from Takato Matsuda in a long time.

"That's the name!" Takato seemed to be the same Takato that Henry knew as a child. He didn't even sound all that different, "So, how's it been? You liking it in America?"

Henry blinked again, finally shaking off the surprise he felt from hearing his old friend's voice. He smiled, "Takato! Wow! It's been, what? Ten years?"

"Yeah, Man!" Takato confirmed, "And you never called." Henry seemed to catch a hint of hurt in Takato's voice, but he also detected the joy from the friends being able to speak to each other again.

"I-" Henry bit his lower lip. He'd never called Takato? He'd never kept in contact? Was that what happened when one moved far away? Was that why...?

Thoughts of his talk with Ms. Nonaka that afternoon came back to his mind. Upon meeting Ms. Nonaka again, he'd been reminded of his past that he had apparently placed aside for the longest time. But why had he put those memories aside? He couldn't even remember the reason for not calling any of his friends. For not keeping in contact with them. What had happened? He knew that he had promised to call and write as much as he could. Why hadn't he done that?

"Hello? Earth to Henry," Takato's voice cut through the detective's thoughts, "You still there? You're not going to avoid me now that I've finally found your number are you?"

"Takato?" Henry repeated what he'd already spoken a few times, "I'm sorry... I was just..." He shook his head, ridding himself of any other thoughts so that he could focus on the phone conversation with his childhood friend, "How've you been?"

"Well, where do I start?" Takato thought aloud, "It's been so long since we last spoke."

"I know," Henry sighed guiltily, "I'm really sorry, Takato. I honestly intended to keep in contact with all of you. But I guess something must have come up. Come to think of it, I don't even remember what it was..." He trailed off, still wondering about ten years ago when he'd left Japan and his friends and life behind.

"Don't fret, Henry," came Takato's reassuring voice, "You're not the only one who seemed to drift away. The only person I've spoken to in the past few years is Kazu. Jeri and Kenta went off to doctor school a few years ago. After Jeri lost her stuffed puppet, that is." Henry chuckled in remembrance at the yellow dog sock puppet that the auburn haired, Jeri Katou always had with her. It spoke to her and she spoke to it. Not much to say about that.

"And as for Rika," Takato continued. 

Henry caught his breath. Rika! Memories began to flood into his mind as Takato continued to speak, causing Henry to only half hear what was being said. The conversation he'd had with Ms. Nonaka that afternoon came back into mind. He shook his head and tried to pay more attention to what was being said right now. Unfortunately, he only caught the last part of it, "... I haven't seen her since. What happened to you two anyways? Didn't you two become really close or something around that time? Oh, by the way, have you seen her? I think she might have moved to America. Los Angeles, California, I think. Isn't that where you live?"

"What?" Henry felt another pang of guilt. Takato had called hoping to catch up with him on their lives, and here he was spacing out.

"Did you even hear a word I said, Henry?" Takato asked, feeling a little hurt and annoyed. It hadn't been easy for him to find Henry's number. Well, maybe it was easier than he made other's think. He'd just been lucky one day to run into Henry's father on a business trip and, through him, found out about what Henry was doing and received the number to call the young detective.

"I'm sorry, Takato," Henry sighed, "I was just thinking. Hey, how'd you get my number?"

"From your dad," Takato answered, "He came to Japan for a business thing and I ran into him. I also found out more stuff about you from him. But anyway, what were you thinking about?"

"What were you talking about before?" Henry avoided the question. Even he didn't understand what he was thinking about. It had come so suddenly.

"I was telling you about how we all drifted apart," Takato repeated, "Jeri and Kenta both went off to doctor school and Rika just disappeared after her grandmother died."

"Rika? She really disappeared? What do you mean?" Henry slumped down onto his couch, a look of concern etched on his face. Rika's mother had mentioned that, but he thought that she only meant Rika wasn't allowing her mother to find her. That she was just avoiding her mother after her grandmother's death. Not that she'd actually "disappeared."

"Well, a few months after you left, Rika's grandmother died," Takato explained, "It was an accident actually. Some idiot was driving drunk and well..." Takato trailed off, remembering the look on Rika's face during the funeral so many years ago.

"Oh man," Henry whispered, "I didn't even know about that. I mean, when I ran into Ms. Nonaka today, she told me, but... How-? Wait! What happened to Rika?"

"She started off becoming distant again," Takato explained, "You know how she was before. And then one day, she just left. She never talked to any of us. She never called either. Kinda like you. By the way, you didn't answer my question. What were you thinking about?"

Henry remained silent. It finally hit him. He remembered that portion of his childhood now. When he had left Japan. Why he hadn't remained in contact with his friends. Why he had seemingly laid aside his memories. Of course he hadn't done it voluntarily. He didn't even realize that he had done it in the first place. That he had practically forsaken all his memories of the past. He sighed, knowing that Takato was still waiting for his answer. He closed his eyes, finally uttering a soft, barely audible, "Rika..."

*flashback*

"Henry," Mr. Wong walked up to his son, who craned his neck in hopes that his friend would be arriving soon, "Henry, our plane will be leaving in another fifteen minutes, okay?" The dark haired boy just nodded, unenthusiastically.

Mr. Wong shook his head. He didn't like the idea of moving away either, but that was the only way. It wasn't every day a person got offered an opportunity of a lifetime. Even _if_ it was across the ocean in a completely different country. He couldn't turn it down. And so the only thing to do was to pack up and move there. Los Angeles, California, in America. That's where they were headed.

Henry didn't move an inch. His eyes remained toward the front of the airport. He knew his friend would show. Rika'd never let him down before. Takato and the rest of the gang had just left, saying that they wanted some food. They would be back in a few seconds if the lines in the cafe weren't long. He trusted they'd be back to wish him a last farewell.

As for Rika. She hadn't come with Takato. He wasn't even sure if she would show up. She didn't exactly mention it when he told her of his leaving for America. Now that he thought about it, Rika had been acting a little funny. A bit different. He didn't know what or why, but he knew there was something different about her.

"Henry," a familiar female voice caught his attention and he turned toward his left to see the person he'd been waiting for. He smiled, knowing that he'd been right. Rika _was_ his best friend. There was no way she'd let him leave without a proper good-bye.

"Better late than never," Henry smiled. He extended his arms to embrace his friend, but was taken aback by her pulling away.

"Henry, don't," Rika seemed to choke those words out. And she was looking down. She was refusing to look at him. Something didn't seem right.

"Rika?" Henry's expression became one of concern.

"I almost didn't come," Rika spoke up.

"You didn't have to," Henry tried to find his words carefully, "if you were busy or something..." It was as if he was sensing quite a bit of tension between the two. What was going on?

"That's not it, Henry," Rika still remained unmoving, her face never looking at Henry's, "I almost didn't want to come. Do you know how hard it is to say...? How hard this is...?" She trailed off, not knowing how to bring herself to say what was on her mind.

"Rika, is everything okay?" Henry placed a hand on her shoulder, but shock came over his expression once again when she brushed it away just as immediately, "Rika?" He looked long and hard at Rika's face, averted elsewhere, refusing to face him. She had a look on her face. A far off look. Henry furrowed his brow. Where had he seen that look before?

"I'm sorry, Henry," Rika blinked a few times and finally looked up. The grim look still on her expression. Her eyes were a little tired and red. _She_, herself, looked weary and tired.

"Rika, have you been crying?" Henry reached out for her once again, but like she had done twice before, she backed away.

"I'm alright Henry," Rika forced a smile, "I just thought that it wouldn't be right to not say... to not say, good-bye."

"Rika..." Henry didn't know what was going on, but he didn't feel it right to pursue. Something just wasn't right, but he was afraid that he would say the wrong thing. As much as he understood this young girl, sometimes, when she chose to, Rika Nonaka would become a complete mystery to him, "We'll still be able to see each other soon. And we'll write each other and talk over the phone. We'll keep in touch. We're still going to be friends."

Rika flinched at the word 'friends,' though she didn't really show it. She just nodded, "Yeah, we'll still..." she trailed off, never finishing her thought. She swallowed the lump in her throat, while at the same time trying to ignore the pang of hurt in her heart and the tears that threatened to flow. She looked into Henry's eyes, hoping to find a sign, "Henry, I have something I need to tell you." Any sign would've been good. But all she found was Henry's expression of concern for her... as a good friend.

"What is it?" Henry smiled warmly, in assurance that he would always try to be there for Rika. That he would always listen to what she needed to say to him. That's what best friends were for. And to him, his friends were the most important parts of his life, aside from his family. To him, Rika really _was_ an important part of his life. She was his best friend- the person he cared about the most.

"Henry, I..." Rika stared into his eyes, half hoping that he'd be able to figure it out so that she wouldn't have to say it out loud. Openly admitting her feelings had never really been one of Rika Nonaka's strong points.

"What is it, Rika?" Henry's voice was half muffled by the female voice announcing that his flight would be ready for take off in five minutes. He scowled at it. Times like this were no time for him to be in a hurry to leave. Especially not now, when it was apparent one of his friends needed him.

"Henry! We need to board now!" his father called to him.

"What is it Rika?" the boy tried his hardest to ignore all the clamor around him. All the noise. The announcement of this flight. His father's voice, beckoning him to leave now. He only wanted to pay attention to what Rika had to say. She was what was important at the moment.

"Henry..." Rika just stood there, still staring into Henry's eyes, even though he had broken eye contact only a few seconds ago. _Please, please,_ Rika silently pleaded, but for more than on thing. She needed Henry to understand what she was trying to tell him. She pleaded for Henry not to leave. She hoped that some miracle would occur; that he would be able to stay with her. But most importantly, she was pleading for the boy, for the love of her life, to be able to return the same feelings to her. To love her as much as she loved him.

"Henry, let's go!" Mr. Wong's voice rang across the waiting room again.

Rika sighed. Instead of speaking, she threw her arms around Henry and hugged him tightly, completely catching him off guard. She then pulled slightly away and, much to her surprise and his, she pressed her lips against the dark haired boy's for a few seconds and then pulled away, whispering a barely audible "I'll miss you," and then running off before Henry could even react.

The tension and confusion was probably thick enough to cut with a knife. Henry stood speechless. Not understanding what happened. Not knowing what to make of the situation. And not knowing what actions he should take next.

"Henry! Let's get going!" Mr. Wong seemed oblivious to what had just taken place only seconds before. To the fact that those few seconds had been one of the most important ones in his son's life. The actions that would effect him whether or not he forgot about that brief moment.

"Rika..." Henry managed to utter as he searched the crowd for any sign of the auburn haired girl. Nowhere. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and then finally turned, picking up his carry on bag, and headed toward the terminal.

*end flashback*

"Hello? Earth to Henry?" Takato's voice had to, again, cut through Henry's thoughts to bring him back to reality, "Henry? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Henry shook his head, "Takato. I'm sorry. I kinda spaced out there."

"I noticed," Takato sighed in exasperation, "What's wrong with you, Man? You don't seem too happy."

"I'm fine, it's just-" Henry took a deep breath. He couldn't believe everything that had gone on today. In just one day, he'd been reminded of his past twice. Not that it was a bad thing. He'd never intended to forget in the first place. It just... happened.

He'd run into Ms. Nonaka that afternoon and now Takato calls. Both telling him the same story about Rika, but in a different perspective. Was it a sign of some sort? Henry shook his head, "Takato, what happened to Rika? Do you know where she went?" He thought back to the conversation he'd had with Rika's mother that afternoon. She'd mentioned that even she didn't know where Rika was. Couldn't contact her, nor could she find out where the girl went. Come to think of it, it _did_ sound as if Rika Nonaka had just disappeared from the surface of earth. Ms. Nonaka didn't even find out about the death of her own mother until a year after it happened. This had caused her a world of grief, though in order to keep her job, she had to remain calm and toughen out the hurt and pain.

Hearing this, Henry had expressed quite a bit of worry and concern. He hadn't seen Rika for ten years- yes. But he still felt that she was his best friend. At least he knew that he was _her_ best friend. For the past ten years, he'd been so caught up in his new life that he hadn't even thought of how much had changed between his old friends since he'd left.

"I don't really know, Henry," Takato spoke thoughtfully, "I _do_ remember this weird man at Grandma Nonaka's funeral though. He seemed to know who Rika was and spent most of the time talking to her. You mean, _you_ haven't seen her?"

"Why would I have seen her?" Henry furrowed his brow while he absently picked up one of the pillows on his couch, hugging it for a bit of comfort. His eyes scanned the clutter he had caused on his way in the door. The coat rack on the ground, the pillows- he'd straighten up later. At least he hadn't harmed his mother's vase. She'd kill him for that one.

"Well, about a year ago, these movers came here, to where Rika used to live," Takato explained, "Apparently they were ordered to move the whole of Rika's house somewhere else." Takato beamed for a while, "And with my detective skills, I was able to find out from them that the house was to be moved to LA. If that's the case, then wouldn't Rika be living in LA too? I mean, why else would her house be moved away? To LA?"

"You mean, Rika could be here?" Henry didn't know whether to jump for joy that he finally had a lead on where his childhood best friend was, or to just leave it be. It seemed weird. If Rika had moved to Los Angeles, then why had she not contacted her own mother? He was sure Rika would know where her mother was. And he was sure he had told her where his family would be moving to, didn't he? Why hadn't she contacted him?

"I'm just guessing," Henry could almost see Takato shrugging as he responded, "You haven't seen her?"

"No," Henry shook his head, "Actually, I haven't seen any of you guys for the past ten years. But then again, neither has Ms. Nonaka. She hasn't heard anything about Rika at all. When she told me that, I just thought that Rika was trying to avoid Ms. Nonaka. I guess that's not the case anymore. What could've happened to her?"

Takato shrugged as if Henry would be able to see him, "Again, I don't know. Whatever it is, I hope she's okay. As much as I didn't like her attitude sometimes, I still thought she was a cool person. Especially after she softened up a bit after the whole Digital World thing."

"I hope she's okay too," Henry sighed. _More than ever_, he silently added. Hopefully, he'd be able to find Rika soon. That would be his new mission. His new, _personal_ mission. He would find Rika.

The detective closed his eyes hoping to clear his mind for a while. Too much had happened today...

"Well, I've got something to tell you," Takato spoke cheerily after a slight pause, only hoping to lighten the mood by changing the subject, "You're about to see more of me soon."

"What?" Henry stretched from sitting in the same position for so long. He pulled himself to his feet and headed toward the kitchen for a snack. If he wasn't mistaken, there should be some leftover spaghetti from when he went to _The Olive Garden_ with his family yesterday morning for that quick lunch. It had been the only time he could schedule his family in for a nice lunch. The chase after Midnight Fox had practically taken up most of his time, and he was going to let it too, if he planned on closing up the case soon. Preferably before the commissioner had a tantrum again.

"Are _you_ moving here too?" Henry joked. He rummaged through his fridge, but only managed to find a carton of milk, a half empty carton of orange juice and some other choice supplements that would require him bringing out his cooking talents that, fortunately, he hadn't inherited from his mother. To be a good chef all a person needed was a good cook book, cable with the food channels and if all else failed, take out was always a good back up plan.

"How'd you guess?" Takato beamed.

"You are?!" Henry was glad he hadn't drank any of the orange juice like he had planned. He would have spit it all back out in surprise. Then he'd have another mess to clean up. 

It was times like these that he wished he hadn't insisted on moving out. His excuse was that his job took up the majority of his day and he didn't want to bother his parents by coming home late at night and waking anyone up. Plus the fact that his younger sister was now in college and she needed her sleep and study time. After a few days of his parents' and little Suzie's pleading, he finally convinced them that it was best if he moved out. He needed his space. His parents seemed to take it pretty well, but Suzie had refused to talk to him for a whole month, until he promised that she could come visit him as much as she wanted. And vice versa.

"Yeah," Takato nodded, "I'm getting a special transfer to LA. My superiors are going to let me attend a one year leadership training retreat in Washington D.C., and then their going to station me in LA. Depending on how well I do at the retreat."

"Wow! That's great!" Henry smiled. He set down his carton of juice and finally shut the refrigerator, "So when will you be here?"

"Well, that's what I'm so peeved about," Takato sighed, "I applied for this a year ago, and they just now informed me that I've been selected to attend the retreat... a year from now. So I won't even be able to show for another two years."

"Well, that might not be all bad," Henry responded, "It's better than what I had to do. Didn't even get a month to spend with my friends before we left. A few weeks and that was it."

"But everyone's gone now," Takato whined, "Even Kazu left. He became a security guard at the University of Tokyo and now he's off to America because some guy bought the, uh, I think it was the Shinjuku Ancient Blade, Krita-Yuga, or something like that. I've never really paid attention to science and stuff."

"Kazu's going to be in America?" Henry blinked in surprise, "Kazu's a security guard?" That was even more unbelievable.

"Oh! And what a coincidence too!" Takato spoke, "He's going to be in LA. Actually, he should already be there. He left a few weeks ago."

"Here? Already?" Henry sat down at his counter, listening intently, "That really is coincidental." He blinked a few times, suddenly thinking of something, "Hey, Takato, how much do you know about the Krita-Yuga? You know, how it was sold?"

"Not much," Takato replied, "Now that I think about it, I think Kenta called me up to complain about it. He's a student at the University of Tokyo. He told me about some wealthy professor who decided to sell the University's artifact. Right out of the University's museum too. Don't know why someone would do that. Kenta wasn't too happy about it though."

"Where _was_ the blade supposed to be shipped to? I mean, what place?" Henry asked.

"Oh, that's an easy one," Takato answered, "Kazu wouldn't stop talking about it. It's supposed to be sold to Kayath Grande Hotel, to be put in display. Should be there right now. Kazu's there because he has to guard it until the hotel's grand opening. Then he can come home and resume his job guarding the University of Tokyo's museum. The owners of Kayath Grande promised that a few more guards would be hired by then. Right now, he's the only one."

"That's tomorrow," Henry spoke more to himself than to his friend.

"What's up, Henry?" Takato asked.

"Nothing," Henry shook his head, "But I think I've got a lead..."

________________________________________________________

End of chapter.

To those of you who are reading and reviewing- Thank you very much. I truly appreciate all the encouragement and suggestions from those of you who read my work. Thank you!!

Don't forget to review. Thanx. ^_^


	5. 5

Author's Note: For the love of everything evil, I've finally got it!! *long sigh* In all honesty, I'd already had this chapter finished and ready to post. Unfortunately, the internet at my house had been becoming screwy, thus causing such a late post date. So, for everyone who's been wondering where this chapter was... I apologize for the delay. Dumb internet. If you're reading this, then it means that I managed to post it before my internet went crazy on me again. But now that it's finally up, you people can stop threatening me. ^_^

Anyway, I'm no good with fight and action scenes- don't even know what half those martial arts moves are called. But I managed.

To Gatafairy- I wasn't too sure on Rika's mother's English dub name. But that's what my friend told me her name was and so I went with that. Plus, upon watching one of the Digimon Tamer episodes, I also heard the photographer guy, or whoever it was, call her Makino and so there was my confirmation. Besides, Makino Nonaka doesn't sound too bad, does it? ^_^

Disclaimer: ....... yada....... yada...... yada..... yada...... yada......

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~Chapter 5~

The Kayath Grande Hotel.

Rika looked on in disgust before she slipped into the building through one of the open windows. She smirked. Such careless people. So easily burglared. Not even an alarm system around. Apparently they hadn't heard of the great Midnight Fox.

The thought of the fact that there might be a trap crossed her mind, but she knew she'd be able to get out of it. Either way, trap or no trap, security or no security, she would have her item: The Shinjuku Ancient Blade- The Krita Yuga.

She remembered the details of this certain heist. Before Yamaki had said anything to her about it, she had already planned to come here. It was sickening to her. From inside sources, Hypnos was able to find out that a professor at the University of Tokyo was in debt by thousands and so in order to pay it off, he sold one of the prized artifacts of the university's museum to a black market that agreed to, in turn, sell it to anyone who was artifact greedy. The professor was supposed to be pretty wealthy too, but not since he'd taken on private gambling with mafias and gangs. Then everything went down hill. The guy even went as far as selling his own adoptive sister to a whore house just so he could find money for daily necessities that weren't even necessary. At least not to the common person.

Yamaki told Rika that they'd already sent one of the agents from the Hypnos of Japan to help out the poor girl. According to inside sources, she wasn't even a legal adult yet. Just a child. How a man could be so heartless was beyond belief, but it had been done.

Rika's job, now, was to retrieve the wrongly sold artifact so that Hypnos could return it to the University of Tokyo or somewhere better. The rest, Yamaki would take care of, which included exposing the heartless man who'd done the wretched deed. How he would do that wasn't Rika's business. She was only doing _her_ job- taking back the artifact.

The stealthy Midnight Fox sneaked across the front lobby of the hotel, not even bothering to worry about alarm systems or security guards. From what Yamaki had told her, there was only one security guard in the whole of the building... and that was all the hotel manager planned on having. Apparently, the Krita-Yuga had been a rather costly buy and so extra security was out of the question. 

If Rika remembered correctly, the one security guard had been hired by the professor himself, to make sure that the artifact was safely delivered and displayed to the public. Of course, if the professor wanted his money, then he'd have to guarantee that his sell was successful. No item, means no money, which in turn meant that he would soon be living in the streets. But that was _only_ if he were lucky. If not, then he may not even be able to live at all.

The shine of the petite blade finally caught the night thief's attention. Rika looked on in content. There it was, settled in a case in the center of the hotel lobby. Where it would be open to display for the public the following morning. The Krita-Yuga stood a good one foot long as it rested against the red velvet stand. The handle, embroidered with gold and silver designs with a yellow chord dangling from the head of it. An amethyst rock sitting in the center. The blade's sheath rested beneath it, the same designs as the handle- gold and silver with one amethyst rock accentuated from the rest of the designs. A light blue cloth strap was sprawled loosely to the side of the sheath. It was the weapon of any high class warrior.

__

Downgraded to a monkey display, Rika thought angrily. She took a few steps forward, taking care not to leave the safety of the shadows near the wall. She still kept in mind that a trap may have been lain for her. Though careful as she was, even a great thief needed to watch her step. Anything could happen.

Rika's leather gloved hand traveled swiftly down to the pack that hung from her side. She produced a miniature glass cutter, guaranteed to cut through any type of glass- quickly, quietly and carefully.

She took a step forward, but stopped in her tracks when she heard the sound of footsteps and what sounded like mumbling, coming closer toward the lobby.

"... why I should be the only guard," the male voice became clearer as the security guard neared the front. His footsteps off rhythm as he seemed to stomp at an angry pace. A light flashed into the front lobby, barely shining over Rika's figure as she dove behind the counter for cover.

"You'd think they would hire more security guards for such a priceless artifact," the guard grumbled under his breath. He stopped in the center of the lobby and studied the Krita-Yuga. He stepped closer and placed a hand on the glass, "Now, _that_ is one awesome blade." The guard continued to drool over the magnificent item as he seemed to imagine what it'd be like to own such a thing.

Rika groaned, _Great, is he going to stand there all night?_ She scowled at the idiot guard and figured that the best she could do was knock him out and quickly take the artifact. After all, she didn't have all night. She glanced around the lobby and noticed how the moon's rays didn't shine in certain places around the counter. With the guard distracted in his own daydream and the shadows shielding her perfectly, Rika knew she had the advantage.

She shook her head, not understanding why Yamaki had chosen her for this assignment. It looked way too easy. No other security guards and not even a hint of alarm systems. Was there a catch to this or was this heist really _that _important that they needed to make sure it didn't fail? There had to be a reason why the cities most infamous and skilled thief was asked to take on this simple task.

With her fox-like movements, Rika silently leapt across the floor until she was directly behind the security guard who was clearly still in dreamland. She rolled her eyes, raised her hand and, with a swift movement, she slammed it into the side of the man's neck. Immediately, he fell to the ground, not even knowing what had hit him. Rika looked on sympathetically at the man. In the morning, he'd be in a lot of trouble for not watching the priceless artifact. But, it served him right. It wasn't not her fault that he was working for a heartless twit. And it especially wasn't her fault that he wasn't a very good security guard.

Rika didn't spend too much time pitying the poor fool. Quickly, she set the glass cutter onto the display case and expertly spun the hairline blade around until a smooth circle was removed from the case. She then reached in, grabbed the sword by it's handle, then pulled it out, with the sheath following soon afterwards. She placed the sword into it's sheath and looked at it satisfactorily. Now, it was time to go. She could admire the item when she reached the light of the full moon outside of the hotel.

How she came in, was how she went back out. The night thief professionally climbed the wall up to the same open window she'd entered through and then landed silently on her feet outside of the building.

__

And yet another heist, completed by none other than Rika Nonaka, she eyed the item contentedly before wrapping it up in a burlap cloth and tying it around her shoulders for easier carriage. And like she usually did after each robbery, she looked back toward the building wondering when people would start to learn. If they wanted to stop the great Midnight Fox, LA's infamous mysterious night thief, they would have to stop overestimating their luck and underestimating her ability. After all, it'd been seven years and she was still able to run wild. Shouldn't they learn by now?

***

It was fortunate that there was a full moon tonight. If a night thief were to steal from the Kayath Grande Hotel, there were only two ways she'd be able to leave the building- either through the front door, or through the side door in the blocked off alleyway. Either way, she'd be walking out into the lighted street where she could be seen clearly. That was exactly the way Midnight Fox would be exiting the building. By way of the lighted street, with her head held high, just challenging anyone to capture her and turn her in.

And of course, Detective Henry Wong would be there awaiting the arrival of Midnight Fox after she took care of her job. She would've never guessed that there would be anyone waiting for her to emerge from the hotel at all. That was because Midnight Fox was always a few steps ahead of the police who tracked her. At least until now.

The dark haired young man leaned against the wall of a nearby building as he watched the Kayath Grande across the street. He yawned, feeling quite bored already, but any sign of stirring from the building and he would be on full alert. He almost regretted showing up so early. He wasn't even sure if Midnight Fox would make her move here tonight, but he wouldn't allow himself to overlook _any_ lead whatsoever. He'd been following this thief for a year and he intended to be the one to close off the case.

Henry shivered. Still, it was cold and he was tired after a long day. Especially after his lecture from the commissioner. It almost made him wonder why he'd become so dedicated to his job in the first place. It wasn't exactly high paying and it was one helluva dangerous job. He'd be facing the possibility of physical injuries and the daily nagging from his mother and father about how he should've become a teacher like his older sister. Life was tough.

About to stifle another yawn, Henry finally caught sight of what he had come for. For the first time since Midnight Fox came into existence, she would be confronted. And if Henry could help it, she would be arrested too.

The boy sighed sadly. For a whole year, tracking the infamous Midnight Fox had been his whole life. And now, he couldn't believe that this case might actually come to a close. He was rather enjoying finding out anything he could from this female thief. But besides that, Henry was clear about what Midnight Fox did.

That she didn't truly steal for her own pleasure. That she had been helping the community in secret. That she had become a hero in many of the people's hearts. And also that she'd been making it easier for the police force to bust black underground market activity and arrest a few of the biggest drug lords and black market conspirators. She'd also helped rid the city of some very disgusting people- high society rich snobs who only thought about the best way to screw over the people and the government.

But what she did was still illegal. And because Henry was a law enforcer, he couldn't let the thief run wild the way she did. It wasn't like there was no other way to take care of all the things Midnight Fox had accomplished. As much as he didn't really want to arrest her, he knew that it was what he had to do. It was like the game of "Cops and Robbers" that little kids played. The "cop" would always be the good guy who was to capture the bad guy who was always the "robber." It was his job to arrest a thief.

Not even bothering to leave as quickly as possible, Rika stepped lightly into the streets and then proceeded to saunter the rest of the way to her hidden vehicle. She was in no hurry. It wasn't as if she had to run from anyone. The only security guard should be out for another few hours and no police officer had been able to track her very closely since the beginning of her career.

"Well, hello, Miss Midnight Fox."

At least that was what she'd assumed. Apparently, the one cop that she'd neglected to take into account was the one who'd been coming closer on her trail. And here he was now. Who was this guy anyway? If he'd been able to figure out where she intended to rob, he _must_ be really good!

Rika sighed and looked at the detective standing in front of her. She tilted her head slightly, trying to get a good look at this man. For some reason, he felt so... familiar. Even his voice had made her feel a sense of familiarity.

The cop stood a good distance from the night thief, not allowing her to get a good look at his face. All she could tell was that he was dressed in all black- black pants, a black t-shirt under a black leather jacket- much like herself, except for the fact that he wore no sunglasses. Midnight Fox had opted for a pair of dark glasses rather than a mask for this night. She looked so much cooler in sunglasses anyway.

"So I finally get to meet the one and only," Henry smirked at the thief before him. He studied the young girl, from her dark clothing to her auburn colored hair hanging in a low ponytail to the pair of sunglasses hiding her face, "It's a little dark out to be wearing those don't you think?"

Rika rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She just shook her head, "What do you want? I'm on a tight schedule."

Henry blinked a few times, hesitating before speaking. Was it just him, or did that voice sound like...? He shook his head. Couldn't be.

"Look," Henry took a few steps closer, "I'm sure you know exactly what I want so I'll be straight forward. You're the infamous Midnight Fox. I'm a detective. I've been following you for the past year. Now that I'm finally able to catch up to you, the only thing for me to do is arrest you. So why don't you make my job easier by just coming with me."

"As if," Rika shook her head almost laughing aloud, "You? Arrest me? You have got to be kidding. Not even any of your senior officers were able to arrest a 'little girl' such as _moi_. What makes you think _you_ can?"

"Because I'm different," Henry stated simply. He was walking closer and closer as he spoke.

Rika watched him as he took each step. She narrowed her eyes, guessing what his trick was. He would keep her distracted, keep her talking and hope that she wouldn't notice him when he whipped out his handcuffs or his gun. She wasn't that easily fooled. She scoffed inwardly at his stupidity. Any closer and he would be paying a visit to the nearest hospital.

"And how different are you?"

"I just am-" he couldn't finish his sentence as he had to move quickly to block the oncoming blow that Midnight Fox had suddenly thrust at him. Then another came as the girl's knee headed toward his stomach, of which he also easily blocked. Again and again, the night thief threw blow after blow, aimed at either the detective's head or his stomach. Again and again, the cop was able to block each attack.

Rika finally stopped, taking a step back into a fighting stance. She eyed the detective before her who had taken a similar stance, himself. So the cop wasn't so foolish after all, "So you know a few moves. Not bad."

"I've been training since I was ten," Henry proudly stated, "You're not too bad yourself."

"Charmed," Rika lowered her arms, "I've been training since I was ten, myself. But that doesn't mean I can't kick your ass. Let's see what you've got, Punk!" With that, she lunged at Henry at a fast pace, again, each punch aimed for his face.

Henry, using his quick reactions and his skill, was able to block each blow that came at him. Face. Stomach. Face. Stomach. Occasionally, she'd try to slip him up by aiming elsewhere, but he was ready for it. She attacked and he defended.

He had to admit, this night thief was quite the fighter. Not only was she fast, but she was also strong. Each of her blows were forceful. Each of her movements were rhythmic and tactful. The girl wasn't kidding when she said she'd been training since she was a very young girl. Midnight Fox truly _did_ live up to her title.

But there was something bothering the detective. He knew that it may have just been coincidence, but it seemed that each of the night thief's moves, he had seen somewhere before. They were familiar. As if he'd fought someone with these same forceful movements before. But where...?

*flashback*

"Not bad," he nodded in approval. His chest heaving from the vigorous work out that he and his friend had just completed. He stood up straight and bowed to the girl as she too did the same.

"Wanna go at it again?" the girl ran a hand through the sweaty strands of her hair. The two had been going over each of their martial arts routines all morning- either showing a one person demonstration, or sparring with each other.

The dark haired boy smirked, "We've been at it all morning. You sure you still have the energy?"

"More than you ever could," she replied. With those words, she positioned her arms in a fighting stance, prepared to, once again, kick her friend's butt. Her violet eyes twinkled in the afternoon sunlight as a warm smile formed on her face. It was tiring, but she was still having a great day.

The boy nodded, "Let's see what you've got then." He too positioned his body into a fighting stance and eyed his friend carefully, watching for any sign of movement. He'd been taught before to make sure he knew the other person's intentions before attacking.

The girl's smile was wiped off her face as she began by dropping herself to the ground and sweeping her leg out to trip her contender before he even knew what was happening. A serious expression replaced her cheery one. That was her usual attitude. She then quickly stood back to her feet, prepared to counter whatever move that her friend would have for her.

As soon as the boy fell onto the ground, as expected, he hopped back up to his feet immediately, but found himself being attacked with an inverted roundhouse. He placed his arms in front of his face blocking each of the hits. He then grabbed onto one of his friend's legs just as she followed her roundhouse with a high kick to his face, and flipped her around, causing her to do a log roll in the air as she dropped to the ground.

With her strength and quickness, the girl was able to guide one of her hands to the ground first and push herself back up to her feet so as not to fall on the ground and become vulnerable to any other hits while she was down.

He smiled and immediately attacked her with a series of kicks and punches of which she was able to block.

*end flashback*

Rika almost growled angrily as hit after hit was blocked effortlessly by the detective. She continued to attack however. She knew that as long as she kept throwing punches and kicks at him, he wouldn't have a chance to counter without getting hit in return. She would just have to try to wear him out, or find a weak point to his movements.

Not having the patience to wait that long, though, she opted to trip him. The thief dropped herself to the ground and swept her leg out, taking the man completely by surprise as he felt himself toppling over and heading toward the ground. As soon as she'd tripped him, Rika jumped back to her feet and planned her next attack, but watched in surprise as the detective was able to immediately jump back to _his _feet. Not even hesitating to think, Rika attacked with the next move that came to mind. She did an inverted roundhouse that she would follow with a high kick to his face. That high kick ought to put the man's lights out. Then she could be on her way.

The detective watched, wide eyed as attack after attack came to him. Why did this feel so familiar? Was it all just coincidence? Lots of people knew these moves. Then why did he sense such a feeling of familiarity?

Henry held his hands out in front of his face to block the kick as it came to his face. Then, as he subconsciously expected, a high kick was aimed at him. He acted on instinct and grabbed onto the leg as a feeling of deja vu overcame him. Without a second's thought, he'd already twisted the thief's leg around, causing her to flip in the air as she headed toward the ground. But with her quickness, she thrust her arm out and managed to push herself off of the ground and onto her feet.

As Rika landed on her feet, she almost did a double take as she stood there, quickly going over those last few moves in her mind. She blinked a couple times in hesitation before realizing that the detective was coming at her with an uppercut. She snapped out of her momentary lapse and managed to block the blow.

Rika growled as the detective continued to come at her with blow after blow. She almost snapped at herself. Her momentary hesitation had made her vulnerable to the series of punches and kicks that she now had to defend herself from. How could she have been so careless?! Rika Nonaka had never let her guard down before. No one person had ever been able to match her skill, speed and strength. No one!... that is except for...

Rika shook her head, to rid herself of any thoughts. Now was not the time to be thinking about him. She had to kick this sorry detective ass so that she could leave. She'd already wasted precious time humoring the jerk by staying and "sparring" with him. Him...

The girl narrowed her eyes at the detective's face, studying it as she continued to block the endless wave of punches and kicks. Him... Rika looked over the detective's face- the dark hair, the hazel gray eyes... such familiar features.

She gasped and her eyes widened. _No, it can't be,_ Rika thought, causing her to miss the blow coming to her stomach. The girl doubled over in pain, falling backwards toward the ground, silently cursing her luck and her carelessness. Mostly her luck. Of all the places. Of all the times.

Henry blinked in confusion after sending the thief sprawling onto the ground. That was odd. The whole time, Midnight Fox hadn't seemed to be that easily defeated. But all he had done was throw a punch at her stomach and that was all it took to beat her. Had she intentionally done that? And for what reason? Or had she been distracted? It seemed that way. He knew that she should've been able to block those punches easily. It was as if she hadn't seen that blow coming.

He walked over to her and looked down in concern. He hoped that he hadn't hurt her too badly. It would certainly slow her down, but he never intended to hurt anyone, "Are you okay?"

"You..." Midnight Fox only narrowed her eyes at the boy staring down at her. There was a look of anger in her eyes... and fear? Henry blinked in confusion once again. Was that fear he heard in her voice? Is that fear he's sensing from her? But why? He held out his hand to help the girl up, but received a stinging slap in return as the night thief pushed his offer away forcefully.

"I don't need your help," she said coldly. She sounded different than before. Before she only sounded annoyed with him. The high and mighty, egotistical attitude that he expected from _any_ infamous thief. But now... now, he seemed to detect a hint of hatred in her voice. A cold, harsh hatred. Did all this come from his managing to knock her down? Was her pride really _that_ important to her that she would hate anyone who showed in any way that they could match her ability?

Rika stood to her feet and narrowed her eyes angrily at the boy in front of her that she finally realized was her childhood best friend... the boy she had loved and still loved. She swallowed the lump that began to form in her throat. What would she do now? Did he know who _she_ was? It _had_ been ten years. Even _she_ hadn't recognized him at first, but that's because she'd attacked him before she could get a good enough look at his face. Until she actually managed to see it up close, she didn't even know it was him. Chances are, he had no idea who she really was.

"Are you alright?" the detective repeated.

"I don't need your sympathy," Rika answered in her harsh tone. She stepped back. She knew what she had to do. She would finally be able to take out all of her anger and hurt on one of the many who'd caused it. She hadn't wanted to think of the past. She hadn't wanted to remain there or to even be reminded about it. Now that she was, she would bring the past to a close.

Henry only looked at her in surprise, but didn't have time to speak when she suddenly lunged at him with a jump kick. He immediately raised his hands in defense, pushing the girl away from him. She did a flip in the air and landed gracefully on the ground into the splits. Her auburn hair flipping behind her head.

He blinked a few times. Now where had he seen this before? Henry looked at Midnight Fox's features, studying them once more. His mind replayed each of the thief's fluid movements clearly. Every move was so familiar to him. He just couldn't understand it.

His eyes widened in shock as it finally hit him. His heart stopped in his chest and he caught his breath. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

*flashback*

After lunging at him with a jump kick, the girl was pushed back away from him, doing a flip in mid-air and falling, gracefully, into splits. He smiled at her, his body still in a fighting position. He noticed the cold and seemingly angered look on the girl's face.

He chuckled. He'd known this girl so long that he knew her expression was just the seriousness she put into things such as this. That was her attitude. She wasn't angry, but rather, she was just being very serious.

"You honestly don't believe I can beat you?" she smiled, her violet eyes now twinkling, though her serious expression still remained.

He shook his head, "Only if you really can," he challenged. He remained in his stance, waiting patiently for her to attack him. If he knew her correctly, she was always the aggressor. She would most definitely attack first.

The girl half smiled. She quickly swung her back leg to the front, leaned back and, with her arms, pushed off of the ground, jumping up onto her feet into a different fighting stance. Her eyes twinkled, still, "Let's go."

Before he knew it, his friend had already lunged at him.

*end flashback*

Snapping back into reality, Henry realized that Midnight Fox had already lunged at him, taking advantage of his space out. Quickly, the detective raised his arm over his head... before the girl even attacked, as if he'd anticipated the blow from above.

Rika gasped in surprise as her hand came down onto the readied defense. Quickly, she pulled her arm back, while at the same time, kicking her leg toward the side of the cop's head... only to find that he'd been prepared for that blow also as he twisted around, dodging it fully. He faced her and watched as she immediately thrust her palm forward, heading straight toward his face.

Henry couldn't believe it. He stared at her as he stood, not moving. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as memories continued to invade his mind... Why hadn't he noticed before?

___________________________________________________________________

Okay, I have to admit. That was the worse chapter I've written for this whole fic so far. I apologize. Ugh! It's just that I wanted to be able to throw in the action plus a lot of the emotional tension, but I now realize that emotional tension is not my thing just as much as action isn't. I mean, I can easily choreograph action, but to write it... That's different.

So, I apologize for this sucky chapter. I'm going to try my best to write the next few ones better.

The fic will be coming to a close after another five or more chapters as the plot begins to dramatize and thicken.

And if anyone is wondering, I borrowed the name Krita-Yuga from the game 'Soul Calibur.' So, no I do not own the Krita-Yuga. I only borrowed the name, so the weapon described is in no way similar to the actual Krita-Yuga from the game.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review. ^_^


	6. 6

Author's Note: Okay, before you threaten me with poison gas and wild Doberman, I'm going to give you all what you want. The very next chapter of 'Midnight Fox.' ^_^ And you all that I was dead or something. And no, I'm not evil, either. I've just been really busy lately with homework and graduation. I haven't had time to do any writing.

But anyway, where we last left off, Rika and Henry had just battled. Now what's going to happen?

To everyone out there, I am very sorry about the lateness of this chapter. Also, in my opinion, this is a fairy short chapter and so hopefully I will have the next one out soon. Once again, I am very sorry.

Disclaimer: .................... What? .......................

________________________________________________________

~Chapter 6~

*A flashback*

She finished off her spar by flipping Henry onto the ground. He made a pretty loud thump as his back came in contact with the hard mattress that had been laid out in the garden. The blue mattresses were there every day at the same time. Usually around noon when the two friends sparred with each other. That was the time they laid aside each day for their exercises.

Ever since they discovered this similar interest in each other, the two had been sparring, practicing and learning new techniques and routines each day just for fun. Basically, they were training for a competition that they would probably never attend. They both looked forward to those junior martial arts tournaments, but never really thought of competing. They only practiced and trained because it was something they loved to do together. Henry would show off his Tai Chi skills that he learned from his father, and his sparring friend would show off whatever creative martial arts movements that she either made up or learned from books. Both exchanged skills and as a team together, were unbeatable.

During school days, they would spar after school let out. During non-school days, they would spar during the noontime and then have lunch immediately afterwards. Grandma Nonaka always had a tray of sandwiches and juice ready for them. On good days, the old woman would make a scrumptious delicacy for them. Either way, lunch was delicious and their days were filled with endless joy.

The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes up to look at the girl who'd just slammed him onto the ground. "That was awesome," Henry laughed, breathing heavily. He looked into the violet eyes of his friend who extended her hand to pull him up. He smiled, grateful that his best friend had finally broken out of her cocoon, and was now hanging out with him and his friends more without her usual angry and rude mask that she wore. He couldn't even remember the last time that she was being a punk bully. But he could remember the first time that she let down her false exterior and welcomed him into her life. Welcomed all her friends into her life to see the true her.

And he was glad and grateful for that. She was an awesome friend. The best he'd ever had. Of course, there were still always those times that she would put out her tough exterior and jokingly make rude remarks. But it was all with friendly intentions that no one took the wrong way anymore.

"I told you I could kick your ass if I wanted to," she also breathed heavily from the work out, "Never underestimate my strength, Henry Wong." 

Henry smiled up at her mock egotism, "Completely understood, Ma'am. You can kick every guy's butt with the way _you've_ been training." He extended his hand toward her, "Now, Miss Almighty Rika Nonaka, how about helping a friend up." He watched as her smile faded into an expression of playful anger and her extended hand was pulled back. Her eyes narrowed, but the cheeriness in her expression remained. Her lips were slightly curled, as she tried her best to conceal her smile.

"I'm not _that_ bigheaded," Rika turned away, crossing her arms and sticking her nose high in the air.

"Come on," Henry persisted, his arm remained extended in the air toward the girl before him, "You're not the type to hold a grudge. I believe Rika Nonaka is better than that. Besides, I wouldn't call you 'big-headed.' Not when you can kick my butt whenever you feel like it." He tilted his head to find that a huge smile now appeared on the girl's face, as she had been unable to feign her anger.

"As long as we're both in agreement here," she finally laughed as she turned to help pull her friend onto his feet, extending her arm once again.

"Of course," Henry smiled at her. A devious twinkle appeared in his hazel eyes as he took her hand in his. Instead of letting her pull him to his feet however, he yanked hard on her arm, causing her to topple over on top of him. He distinctly heard a low growl from the girl as she sat up, starring daggers at him.

"Why you little..." Rika again faked an angry expression and turned her head away from her friend who was chuckling lightly to himself. She hmphed and crossed her arms.

"Rika..." Henry shook his head still chuckling to himself.

*end flashback*

"Rika..." the whispered name hung in the empty night air.

Only mere centimeters away from his face, the attacking hand stopped. Having closed his eyes in reaction to her attack, Henry now opened them when he didn't feel the painful blow it should've caused. He looked passed the arm and right at the female thief's face. 

Why had she stopped? That would only mean one thing. She really was Rika! He had said her name as the memory faded away. He had whispered her name, but it was still loud enough for her to hear. She really was the Rika Nonaka that Henry knew as a younger adolescent!

Rika only gaped at him, her heart beating loudly and her head dizzy with shock. She felt numb. 

She'd thought he didn't know who she was. She was supposed to be the great Midnight Fox. She was supposed to only be known as Midnight Fox. As much as she hated that name, it was the only name by which the public knew her. NO ONEwas supposed to know who she truly was, but he'd spoken her name. That meant that what she suspected was true. The detective really was Henry Wong. The Henry Wong she'd known as a child. The same boy she had loved. And Henry Wong was the detective who'd been tracking her for the past year. She same detective who had devoted all that time to capturing the infamous Midnight Fox, bringing her to justice and locking her up for the crimes she'd committed. 

And now, he knew who she was.

***

In the dark of an empty parking lot building, a light shined from behind a tall figure. He stood against the hood of his car awaiting the other person he was to meet. The man brushed off his watch and checked the time just as footsteps were heard coming his way. He smiled, his eyes twinkled deviously in the dark at the secret meeting he'd arranged for tonight.

"If you want to live to hear this," the man warned in a stern whisper, "I'd suggest you don't come too close. When I said confidential, I meant it." He looked over the features of the other man, recognizing the face immediately.

"It's fine with me," came a higher, rustier male voice. He stopped where he was and eyed the silhouette of the other man, trying to avoid the blinding high beams from the car he was leaning on, "I'm only here for your information. I don't need to know who you are." He narrowed his eyes, hoping to get at least one look at the face. After he'd taken care of his first business with the information this "secret source" was about to provide, then he would also bust the rest of them.

"Good," the first man dropped his cigarette onto the ground and smashed it out, "Because I have information that will help you dearly." He smirked, loving what he had planned to do in an almost perverse way. His idea had come to him early on in the year, but tonight was the only time he could find to go through with it. Finally, he would get his time to shine.

"Let's hear it," the second man took a step forward absently. He'd received an anonymous call that morning and, all day, he'd been nervous about the situation. But as long as he received what he wanted to know, he would be fine. Better than fine, actually. He knew his colleagues would indefinitely be looking up to him. He could show the force and show his team that Henry Wong wasn't the only great cop on the force. When he finally arrested the infamous Midnight Fox, then Wong would be out of the picture and he would become the force's best officer. That was all he had to do. Arrest Midnight Fox.

"First," the man grinned lighting another cigarette, "I want what _I_ asked for."

The second man nodded and raised a bulky manila envelope in his hand, "It's right here."

"Give it to me," the first man demanded, but was disappointed to see that the cop before him made no movement to do so.

"How do I know you're information is useful?"

"Because," he smirked, "I've been working with your so called 'Midnight Fox' for the past ten years. I know exactly the information you'll need. Now give me the money and I'll give you the information." He took a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

"How do I know what you'll be telling me is true?" the cop hesitated, still not believing. He continued to find some way to see passed the blinding light. He wanted to see who this "secret source" was. He wanted to know who was giving him this valuable information that probably not even Henry Wong would ever receive.

"That's an easy one," the man responded, "Because I want Midnight Fox out of the picture." He took one last huff from his cigarette and then flicked it across the dark parking lot, watching as the spark from the buttend of the item came to a rest.

***

Time passed painstakingly slowly as the two continued to stare at each other, both unmoving.

It was Henry who made the first move. He hesitantly raised his hands toward the thief's face, reaching for her sunglasses. Rika snapped out of her trance, though still feeling numb from shock. She moved her outstretched hand to slap away Henry's, but he only grabbed it with his other hand and managed to take hold of the sunglasses that covered Midnight Fox's eyes, masking her face.

His hand remained there for a moment before he finally decided to pull the glasses away from the girl's face. And still, time ticked by in slow motion until the accessory was finally pulled away from Midnight Fox's face to reveal two shimmering violet eyes, which were filled with disbelief, anger, fear, hatred and sadness.

"Rika," Henry breathed. He'd finally found his friend, but... She was _the_ Midnight Fox that he had dedicated the past year of his life to finding and arresting. How could this have happened? He shook his head unwilling to believe what he had just discovered. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't possibly arrest his best friend. His heart wouldn't allow him to do this. But what about his job? His career? He couldn't forget about that either. He'd worked hard for what he had.

"Why?" Henry heard the familiar voice utter. He should've guessed that it was her to begin with. All the signs he'd been seeing all day. Why had he been so stupid?

Rika only licked her dry lips and closed her eyes, "Why? Why did it have to be you?" She chuckled sadly and shook her head as she stepped away from him and headed off into the dark of the street.

Henry only stood there. What was he supposed to do? What _could_ he do? He slumped to the ground and buried his face in his hands. Of all the people that Midnight Fox could've been... "Why Rika?" He only remained there, not even bothering to watch where the night thief was headed, not even knowing whether or not he should go after her.

She was his friend. She was his best friend. One of the people that he cared about more than his own life. She was important to him. And in turn, she turned out to be the one person that he had to capture, to arrest. He had to do it, because his job depended on this. But at the same time, she was his best friend. She was one of the most important factors of his life. As much as his mind told him to go after her and take her in, his heart told him other wise. He couldn't do it. His heart just wouldn't let him.

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My apologies. It just gets worse and worse, doesn't it? Oh well, the show must go on... or rather, the story must continue.

I hope everyone enjoyed that last chapter. I'm not exactly all that good at writing emotional scenes. This last one was supposed to be overly, dramatically emotional and sad. Actually not really, but I tried my best.

Another note to all the readers of 'Midnight Fox' - THANK YOU!! I really enjoy reading all those reviews you've been giving me. Thank you very much for you support. Because of you all, I'm trying my hardest to complete this Henrika fic.

Don't forget to review. Thanx. ^_^


	7. 7

Author's Note: I'm not promising anything, but as my days in high school are now over, I will hopefully be able to complete this fanfic over the summer time. As I speak, I'm pleased to say that I have had positive results the last two nights that I spent typing away for hours, non-stop. I've regained my inspiration, all thanks to my want to finish this fic for all it's readers.

To everyone out there, thank you for your wonderful reviews. You're who inspired me to write.

I promised a good chapter this time, but I'm sorry to say that I may have failed. Once again, there is a fight scene and so, this may not be the best chapter. Once again...

I tried to get this chapter out earlier, I honestly did, but because the end of the school year had approached for me, I found myself studying for the finals instead. I hope everyone understands. I'm not leaving anyone hanging, I've just been really busy.

Anyway...

Disclaimer: .................... duh............... um..............

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~Chapter 7~

The dust and sand began to cloud the air around the punching bag as it continued to take hit after hit after hit. Only a few more punches and it would indefinitely break. A punching bag could only take so much force before popping.

SNAP!

Rika growled angrily. She muttered a few words of inaudible profanity, narrowing her eyes at the bag of sand, now lying limp on the mattress of the Hypnos training gym #1. She mentally dared the bag to jump back up to retaliate as if it were a living thing. But it didn't move. It only lay there, a hole at the top where the sand poured out onto the blue mattress, leaving a mess for the unlucky person who'd have to clean it up. 

The agent narrowed her eyes at the sand. Whoever would clean up the mess, it sure as hell wasn't going to be herself!

She huffed and spun around, immediately eyeing the occupied wooden training person. She still felt the need to punch something. She needed to release all the anger she still felt inside of her. The punching bag just wasn't enough.

The wooden person was occupied, however, and so was the training pole and the other punching bag. If she wanted either of those, then it would require her to speak to one of the three people in order to ask them to leave. Socializing wasn't exactly Rika's strong point at the moment. Scratch that, socializing was never Rika Nonaka's strong point, ever.

She tilted her head watching unenthusiastically as the blonde boy, about her age, clumsily and tactlessly played around with the wooden person. Wherever he had learned his fighting techniques, he either didn't pay attention too well, or the teacher didn't teach too well. His techniques just sucked! She contemplated simply shoving the boy aside and taking over the training item, but decided not to. For one, she didn't _really_ need _that_ particular training item. Second, she didn't feel like wasting any time or causing any trouble. Not that she couldn't get out of trouble easily. No one ever dared to oppose Rika. She was way too intimidating.

"Hey, Nonaka, you wanna spar?"

Rika didn't even bother to answer. She just picked up her towel and decided to head to the other gym. Maybe there would be a vacant punching bag. She didn't have time to entertain someone by sparring with them. She didn't really care to either.

She was stopped by a hand landing on her shoulder and pulling her forcefully back around. She didn't struggle too much. Whoever thought they could get away with even touching Rika Nonaka would soon enough receive his or her due. Everyone knew better than to keep Rika from where she was going.

A scowling glare now confronted the auburn haired agent from a pair of hazel eyes. Rika just looked on, unamused. The man before her continued to glare daggers at the younger girl, "He asked you a question."

Rika just studied the face of Andrew Chen. He seemed serious and he seemed angry. Her face remained expressionless and tired. In her most snide, uncaring voice, she responded slowly, "Doesn't mean I have to answer you." She yawned, sending the signal that she had better things to do than to converse with any other low-class agent. Not that Andrew Chen wasn't a good agent, he just wasn't good enough. The man was a top agent, but to Rika, he still wasn't good enough.

"You-" Andrew would've blown his top at the girl if not for his best friend being there. He didn't want to have anything to do with Rika Nonaka, but the girl was being way too rude and disrespectful. And he hated it when people ignored either him or his friend. When Sean was ignored by Rika Nonaka herself, Andrew couldn't take it anymore.

"Chill, Andrew," Sean placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's no big deal. If she doesn't want to spar, she doesn't want to spar. We'll spar. It's no big deal. Really."

"Yes, it is," Andrew continued to scowl at Rika, "I've never _ever_ seen anyone as rude as her. When someone asks you a question the least you can do is give a response. Just because you're the almighty and popular 'Midnight Fox' doesn't mean you can go around doing whatever you feel like. You have to think about other people too. Especially towards one of your own. That's what a Hypnos agent does."

"Are you done?" Rika asked, rolling her eyes in annoyance, "I don't have time to hear your sob stories about the proper code of conduct. _I_ am Rika Nonaka. _I_ do whatever _I_ want to do and _nobody_ tells me what to do. Not you. Not your friend. Not this organization. Not my uncle. Not. Even. Yamaki. Got that?" She crossed her arms, daring the Chinese boy before her to challenge what she'd just stated, but he only narrowed his eyes.

"There is only one person who determines what Rika Nonaka does and doesn't do," Rika continued, "And that person is me. Do I make myself clear, Agent?" Again, silence followed as the whole gym was now watching the exchange between two of their fellow agents. One of them being the all too well known Rika Nonaka- top agent.

Andrew finally just nodded, remembering to keep his cool. He would find a different approach at dealing with this girl. He wasn't going to get himself into trouble by losing his cool. That wouldn't be smart. He turned around to face his friend.

Satisfied that she got her way once more, Rika just turned, ready to head for the gym's exit. That is, she would've left if she hadn't been challenged behind her back.

"Well, if Miss High and Mighty doesn't want to spar, we'll spar, Sean," Andrew spoke, calmly, "She probably doesn't have it in her to fight. Probably why she never really trains with a living breathing person. Probably can't take all the pressure. All bark.... and no bite." He spoke the last part with a dramatic emphasis, making sure that Rika would hear him. He may not have known Rika Nonaka very well and he may not like her very much, but he knew enough to know that people like Rika loved their pride more than anything. If he challenged her with those words, chances were, she'd accept just to show how tough she truly was.

And he had been right too. He'd hit the right buttons. Immediately, Rika spun back around and glared daggers at the boy, "You're on." Her voice was dripping with confidence and anger, "I need something other than a punching bag to beat up anyway. I guess a moving target is all the better. At least you'll fight back. Even if you aren't much."

"And what makes you think that I want to spar with you now?" Andrew responded snidely.

"Because _you_ have no other choice," Rika stated simply, "A challenge is a challenge. Now you have to live up to it. Or face the humiliating consequences." She glanced around the gym, looking at no one in particular, only noting the paused activity from the rest of the Hypnos agents, waiting patiently to witness an all too rare spar between two of Hypnos's top level agents. Both may not have been at the exact same level, but were known very well throughout the underground organization by the rest. Under her breath, Rika added a menacing, "You'll wish you never even spoke to me in the first place."

And now- a face off.

***

Wet and heavy, the towel slapped the poor man in the face. Kazu looked up at his friend sheepishly, stifling a tired yawn as he pulled the towel off.

"How are you?" Henry circled the counter in his apartment, reaching into his refrigerator only to find that he hadn't stocked it yet, thus there was nothing inside. At least nothing consumable that didn't require cooking. He furrowed his brow, making a mental note to take a trip to the supermarket soon for choice foods that he could snack on- the usual T.V. dinners and slices of ham and cheese. He sighed and glanced out the window at the bright sunlit sky of Los Angeles. It was almost noon and the sun was shining from overhead.

"My neck hurts like hell," Kazu stated. He leaned back and draped the towel across his face, breathing in the musty air through the wet towel. He placed his hands to his sides, seemingly trying to relax his body.

"You took a pretty hard blow," Henry nodded in understanding. He looked at the security guard, now sprawled on his couch. The events of the night came back into his mind. He shook his head, wanting to forget. He wanted to block those thoughts out for now. He shook his head at Kazu Shioda. He sympathized with the young man. Even though the security guard should've been alert last night to the impended heist, there really wasn't anything he could've done if confronted by the infamous thief. She would undoubtedly be able to take him down in less than a second. Alert or not.

Unfortunately, Kazu's boss didn't think in the same way. That was why the poor young man was going to be sent back to Japan as soon as possible. There was no use for him in Los Angeles anymore, especially since he'd failed his task. When he arrived back home, he would have to face the professor who'd hired him in the first place. There was no telling _what_ might happen to Kazu. Would he lose his job? He didn't know.

Kazu sighed aloud through the towel, still draped across his face. The only thing that he could remember from last night was that he'd been admiring the Shinjuku Blade when he was suddenly knocked out from behind. The next thing he knew, he was looking into the familiar face of the Detective Henry Wong, also a friend he'd known as a child back in Japan. He was still lying next to the Krita-Yuga's display case, but he was no longer in the dark of the lobby... and the blade was missing. Lights had been flipped on and there was a busy crowd shuffling around the case to find any possible finger prints or clues as to who the thief was- as if they didn't already guess.

He pulled the towel down, peering toward Henry as the detective took a seat adjacent to the couch. Kazu grinned sheepishly, "I didn't even see it coming."

"Nobody ever has," Henry reassured the man, _I certainly didn't_, he thought. He sighed, hesitating before continuing, "The thief, they call her Midnight Fox, she's very tricky. Very skilled and talented. It's been, practically seven years..."

"'Midnight Fox?'" Kazu furrowed his brow. He'd only been to Los Angeles for a few days and didn't know too much about the local news in the City of Angels. He chuckled slightly, "Sounds like some cheesy superhero."

Henry nodded, chuckling himself. When he had first heard of Midnight Fox, that was the same thought to cross his mind. In his opinion, the media and the people of the city were going a little overboard when they nicknamed their famous criminals. "I wouldn't doubt that this person may have super powers of some sort." He leaned back and breathed in, "No one has been able to come anywhere near her for the past seven years, I believe..." The detective trailed off, unnoticeably. He wasn't sure whether or not to let on that _he_ had been able to confront the famous night thief _AND_ find out who she was. His eyes drifted off into space with one thought rising to the surface of his mind: _Rika..._

"Have you?" Kazu broke his friend's thoughts.

"Huh?" Henry blinked a few times.

"Have you come anywhere close to... arresting her?" Kazu asked again. He was in the midst of bunching up the towel in one of his hands. He looked back up at Henry, waiting.

Henry bit his lower lip, sitting up straight, suddenly. He looked at Kazu's expectant expression. He looked down at his hands, contemplating the inquiry over in his mind as if it were a million dollar game question. He finally looked up, only saying, "I've been following her for a year..." He trailed off once again, but added, "and I haven't been able to close the case up yet."

Kazu nodded, "She must be tough. I'd like to meet this person one of these days." He leaned back after dropping the towel on Henry's dark coffee table. He then took in a deep breath, his mind now focused on how bad of an ass chewing he'd receive when he returned home. Mentally, he thought of all of the worse scenarios he could possibly be put in: delayed promotion, messed up profile... being fired... He wasn't sure what could be worse. He sighed, knowing that there had been a reason why his parents wanted him to become a doctor like Kenta was doing. But could he help it if "doctor school" was never really his interest?

Henry smiled nervously at Kazu's remark. He leaned back, thoughts of Rika beginning to flood his mind. He didn't understand how everything could've come down to this. How, for the past year, he'd been following a dangerous, infamous, possibly murderous criminal... and she turned out to be his best friend, Rika Nonaka. He just didn't understand why life was playing with him this way. What was he supposed to do now?

Kazu mumbled incoherently, barely pulling Henry out of his thoughts, about how pissed his supervisor was going to be. About how "not happy" the professor would be. He just wasn't going to hear the end of it for a long time to come. Again, he mumbled, "I'd really like to meet this Midnight Fox. Give her a piece of my mind..." His mumbling continued as he seemed to drift into a tired sleep.

"You'd be so surprised," Henry glanced at the other man, "Everyone would be..." He sighed sadly, _But not as much as I was._

***

Rika blinked. She blinked again. Her mind had started playing tricks on her as she looked across the mattress at her opponent. _What is wrong with me?_ she thought, _Focus, Rika! You have to show these people that Rika Nonaka is NOT to be taken lightly._ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Reopening them again, she looked at Andrew Chen, only to see Henry's face smiling at her.

She dropped her arms from her fighting stance and growled inaudibly. Closing her eyes once more, she turned her head away. She had to get him off of her mind. She felt like she was going to go crazy! She just didn't understand it. Andrew Chen and Henry Wong were two different people... with that same shade of warm hazel eyes.

__

Damnit! Rika cursed to herself. She took a deep breath once more, then glanced back over at the young man before her. This time, she was satisfied to find that he was Andrew Chen again.

"Are we going to begin or not, Nonaka?" Andrew's voice pulled her back into reality. He turned up his nose lightly, adding a snide remark, "Or are you having second thoughts because you can't fight?" He glanced over at the younger girl, only to be faced with a hate filled glare. He blinked a few times, finally noticing those dark, mysterious violet eyes of the famous Rika Nonaka. And what he saw... shocked him. His own expression softened, unnoticed to those around.

"Let's go," Rika spoke sternly. She raised her arms once more to the delight of the audience, now crowded around the outside of the blue mattress. They all waited patiently for the two agents to begin their battle. It had been a few moments because of Rika's apparent space out, but they knew it would be worth the wait. It wasn't every day that two of Hypnos's top agents faced off like this. Besides that, no one had the guts to make any snide comments about the few seconds of delay. No one really wanted _their_ asses kicked.

Andrew nodded and he raised his arms up, prepared to either lunge first, or dodge any attack that Rika would throw at him. But being the aggressor himself, he figured that he would make the first move. And so he charged at Rika with a full force, prepared to throw a punch at her face. Apparently, Rika Nonaka was also an initiator when it came to fights. The auburn haired agent was also rushing at him, supposedly about to do the same thing he planned to do.

The two met in the center of their advances with a series of kicks and punches from one another, each barely blocking and dodging the other's hits. Rika aimed for the other agent's stomach of which he countered with a punch toward her face as he blocked with the other arm. Rika, herself was able to block the attack as she brought her knee up toward Andrew's stomach. Again it was blocked. For the next few seconds, the rest of the agents only watched in amazement at the speed and tact of the two agents' attacks toward one another- punch, kick, block, punch, kick, block... And it went on.

Until finally, Rika felt bored of the routine and dropped to the ground with lightning speed, sweeping her leg out. Before Andrew even guessed what happened, he felt himself fall backward. The agent growled angrily, as he quickly hopped back onto his feet only to be faced with a kick to the stomach which caused him to topple over in pain. He grabbed at his stomach and glared up at Rika who now stood with a satisfied expression, arms crossed, seemingly waiting for him to throw in the towel and give up.

The agent pulled himself to his feet, glaring daggers at Rika, though mentally, he felt impressed. Rika Nonaka no doubt lived up to her title as top agent. She was fast, she was tactful and she was strong. And oddly, he didn't feel the least bit surprised, nor did he feel outraged at that fact.

She didn't speak. She only stared at him with a snide expression on her face. As he raised his arms into another starting fight stance, she did the same.

He didn't speak either. He only stood there, waiting for the next blow. But it didn't come. It didn't seem to be coming either.

Rika waited. She decided that she wouldn't be the aggressor this time. She would wait for _him_ to attack. It wasn't every day that she came across someone who was able to take a forceful blow from her like that, and still remain standing, asking for more. So she waited patiently, anticipating every first move that he would possibly make, and thinking up a counter move for each.

He finally lunged at her with a punch, but midway, he pulled back and threw an uppercut at her. Rika bent backwards in order to dodge this blow, missing it by a few centimeters. When she straightened back up, he came at her with a punch aimed at her face. To this, she responded by ducking to the side and grabbing his arm with hers. She shifted her weight and with her strength, she pulled the boy over her head, planning on slamming him onto the mattress below. Hard.

To her surprise, Andrew used the airlift to his advantage, twisting in midair and landing on his feet, immediately sweeping out one leg, tripping the girl onto her back.

Rika cursed her carelessness as she pushed off the ground immediately, but didn't have time to dwell on it as she was bombarded with punch after punch after kick all aimed at random places: face, stomach, side... She almost smirked at this boy's persistence and his ability. He wasn't bad. Of course she wouldn't admit that aloud. She blocked and dodged the coming blows that seemed to be gaining speed. She smiled inwardly. He was going to wear himself out before he even knew it.

Seeing an opening in Andrew Chen's fighting stances, Rika took the advantage and moved in, thrusting her palm forcefully at Andrew's chest as he threw a punch upwards at her face. The force of the blow threw the boy backwards, as it seemed he would fall to the ground once again. Rika smirked, knowing that a few more blows like that would definitely finish him off.

At the last moment, before the male agent fell, however, he reacted by grabbing onto Rika's out thrust hand about to pull her down with him. Rika stood her ground, however, angrily cursing inaudibly. Her strong horse stance kept her standing and unfortunately, it also kept Andrew Chen from falling. Rika cursed a little more loudly this time, quickly slipping her hand from the man's grasp, spinning around and attempting at an elbow to his face with her other arm. To her surprise, her opponent blocked the elbow with one arm, while skillfully and smoothly slipping his other arm around Rika's elbow and then twisting her around and away from him.

Rika furrowed her brow as she stood a good few inches away from him after he'd twisted her around. His movements were fluid and smooth. And they seemed so familiar. As she watched during the next few milliseconds, Andrew Chen's arms moved himself into a familiar stance. The moves were so natural that it seemed he'd done this many times before. The movements were so familiar to Rika, as if she'd seen them many times before.

She watched closely once more as Andrew began to move his arms and legs around slowly and smoothly into another starting fight stance. She had seen this movement before... Slow, yet forceful... Fluid and smooth...

Rika stood for only a second longer before she began her next attack with two roundhouses, not even paying any heed to what Andrew was doing. Her leg came down toward Andrew, but was pushed away, practically bounced smoothly back into the air. She came at him with another kick, but it too was pushed away in a semi-circular motion.

Rika narrowed her eyes at Andrew's new technique. Where had she seen this before? He pulled his left arm upward slowly and pushed his other arm forward, not even paying attention to the person before him, focusing solely on his different stances. He looked up at Rika, a dead serious expression on his face.

__

"Tai Chi Chuan, Rika... My dad says it's the way of Yin and Yang. It focuses on the inner strength. When you're up against someone who wins solely with brute strength, Tai Chi will always come through..."

She blinked once... and gasped. Her eyes went wide and she barely missed one of the palm blows that suddenly came toward her face as Andrew took his first offensive attack. She blinked again as one barely audible whisper escaped her mouth, "Henry..."

__

No! Rika bit her lip, trying her hardest to focus on those attacks, frantically trying to rid her mind of any thoughts of Henry Wong. But the harder she tried, the more she saw him... in the man before her. With each move that Andrew made, she saw Henry as he was the night before. The Henry who was attacking her for the sole purpose of capturing and arresting Midnight Fox. Her mind kept making her see that dark haired boy. The slow motion attacks that came to her became twice as fast and twice as deadly, as the girl could not make herself focus clearly on the different stances.

But that wasn't Henry! The person she was sparring with was Andrew Chen. A Hypnos agent who annoyed the hell out of her. Not Henry.

Not Henry! Not Henry!

A forceful kick to the stomach sent her sprawling onto the mattress. She breathed in surprise, hearing the shocked gasps from the crowd around. _Oh no..._ she thought. She had failed and she had been beaten. She slowly glanced around the room. Every second seemed to tick by slowly. Painstakingly slow. There were surprised looks on the other agents' faces. There were satisfied expressions and there were confused ones.

Rika blinked a few times, feeling an oncoming rush of tears. But not from being beaten. From the fact that she couldn't get Henry Wong off of her mind and that she had let the ghost of his past and hers beat her. It had caused her carelessness. She finally looked at Andrew Chen, standing before her, expecting to see a snide look of satisfaction. She shook her head before she even saw his expression, because the next thing anyone knew, she was on her feet, glaring daggers and Andrew Chen and attacking him with a jump kick.

He had blocked the best he could, pushing Rika back into the air where she did a back flip and landed into the splits, prepared to fight again. Andrew stood, feeling a little confused at how easily he'd been able to knock _the_ Rika Nonaka over with a simple kick. But then again, she seemed... distracted. Her sudden oncoming rush of attacks surprised him greatly.

He didn't have time to contemplate the situation. Rika had already lunged at him with an uppercut while at the same time planning a kick to the stomach. He blocked the first punch, then blocked the next, then grabbed onto her arm after her third punch.

He furrowed his brow. Something didn't seem right. Before, she'd been using different tactics to attack him. But now, she was throwing random punches and kicks at him which he was sure she knew were easy to block. Something had happened.

Holding onto her arm, he reached up and took hold of her other arm as it came in with another punch. He gripped her arms tightly, still a look of confusion in his face. What was wrong with her? Again, he found himself looking into those violet eyes. And surprisingly, they were entrancing and they showed him the same discovery he'd made earlier before they began fighting. To his own surprise, he loosened his grip on her arms. Taking this to advantage, Rika twisted out from his hold and flipped him over her. This time, he slammed into the mattress as expected. And he stayed there.

Rika looked down satisfied that she'd finally finished the match. But she didn't smile, nor did she feel content. She walked over to him and offered him a hand, pulling the male agent to his feet. Then finally, she walked away without a word and without even making eye contact with anyone. As she did, the crowd dispersed, knowing that the fight had ended.

"You did that on purpose," Sean put a hand on his partner's shoulder, "I thought you hated her. Why didn't you-?"

Andrew just shook his head, "I don't know." He kept his eyes on the female agent's back as she retreated out of the gym. He knew he could've taken advantage of Rika Nonaka's ruthlessness at that last moment. He could've beaten her. Defaced her so she wouldn't be seen as the best anymore. But he didn't do it. Having looked into those violet eyes twice during the past few minutes, he'd discovered something that he thought he'd never see in a person such as Rika Nonaka. 

In that rude, angry, snide and egotistical woman he'd just sparred with, he discovered a weakness and possibly the reasons to her anger. Behind the mask that Rika Nonaka wore in public, behind that "greater than thou" attitude she portrayed, inside those mysterious violet eyes, Andrew Chen saw sadness and an emptiness that only someone as lonely as Rika Nonaka could possibly possess. She was alone and she was sad.

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Well, well, well... Another chapter. What'd you think? I honestly, honestly tried my best. Didn't go too well, did it? :(

Oh well! ^_^ It's the plot of the story that counts, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself. ^_^ Keeps me happy.

I hoped to get this chapter out before the weekend. I'll be out of town for the weekend and wanted to make sure I took care of this.

BTW, what does everyone think of Andrew?

There will be more coming soon. As I already stated, I've had positive results from the past few nights of typing non-stop for hours. I'm actually almost done with the fanfic. And if everything goes the way I want it too, I should be done with this in a matter of time. I make no promises, however, so...

Until then, keep reading.

I thank each and every person for their support and encouragement and the great reviews. I'm glad you all like this fic.


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